Drowning Lessons
by PeculiarMadmoiselle
Summary: [ReidCentric]After giving in to his addiction Reid and the team are assigned to a case at a boys boarding school where undercover investigation is needed and Reid is the only one right for the job. But can he handle it?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters on CM

Rating: Rated T for some offensive language and violence

Prologue

The day was chilled with an icy hair in Virginia. March was definitely here and the winds were cold and all signs of nature seemed to be frozen over with frost. Reid could feel the draft of cold hair filter into the windows of his apartment. He had forgotten to put some plastic over them so that it wouldn't be so cold. So he just had to deal with it for the night

The coldness seemed to drift into his dreams even as he slept clutching the many blankets that surrounded him. He could feel the prick of a needle on his arm and the very sensation he had left behind about a month ago. The withdrawal had been difficult and he had hidden it pretty well, but he still yearned for the drugs.

Reid got up to go into his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. There were dark circles visible and his eyes looked glazed over. After splashing for water on his face to try to make him not think about the drugs he went back into bed.

As he finally went to sleep again he was greeted with dreams of memories. He was out in the graveyard trying to stay conscious as he dug in the ground with a shovel. He felt so weak and helpless. Reid could see Tobias and his burning eyes that captured such a disturbed soul. He was trying to dig faster, but his body was so feeble. His thoughts were filled with guilt. For a moment he believed he actually deserved this lonely death he was soon going to endure.

Reid woke up once again in a cold sweat. He felt cold all over and he couldn't escape it. Not being able to have a peaceful sleep was such a miserable feeling. He desperately needed an escape.

Once again he walked over to the bathroom of his apartment and looked at himself in the mirror. He opened the medicine cabinet and took out the syringe and liquid drugs.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled as he stabbed himself and pressed down on the needle.

The rest was blackness.


	2. Chapter 1 A Difficult Case

A/C: Hey people. Sorry the prologue was so short and everything. This is my first fan fiction ever and I hope you all really enjoy it. Please review

In the bull pen of the BAU office phones were ringing and people moved around not standing still for even a moment. There was always a heavy flow of work to be done whether it is on the field or paper work so everyone was quite busy.

Morgan loomed over Agent Prentiss's desk where it looked like a truck had dumped paperwork on. This was his usual procedure to talk and tease her a bit in the mornings.

"Hey, woah look at all that!" he said with a fresh grin spreading across his face.

"I know can you believe it? We haven't been out of here in a week and we still have this much to do." She said as she finished a final note on one of her many files.

"You mean you have a lot of work. I myself finished last night."

After he spoke she gave him a playful nudge and Hotch came out of his office towards them with his usual stern expression.

"Derek, I have a few more case files for you to finish." He said with a yawn.

Hotch usually looked tired, but the bags under his eyes left evidence of a long night awake with his son.

"Hah, well that's karma for you Morgan." She said to Derek in a sing song voice.

"And _we_ have a new case, conference room now." Hotch stated breaking up their playful teasing.

As they went for the conference room Reid stumbled out of the elevator wit his usual thermos of coffee. Prentiss and Morgan exchanged glances. Their last case in New Orleans had not been the best their relationship with the young agent. He had lied to them constantly and even missed a flight to go interview someone on purpose. Prentiss felt she had the right to be mad at him after what he said a few weeks ago. Morgan was also still a bit sore after being lied to by his longtime friend.

Morgan knew though that recently after being kidnapped Reid was very fragile so he wasn't really going to press the situation that much. After all he was quite a forgiving person.

"Hey Reid, how was your weekend?" he said acting as casual as possible.

Reid's eyes were blood shot and his dark circles under his eyes were worse than the ones Hotch possessed. Everyone could guess automatically that something was up. They were profilers after all.

"Fine." He mumbled coolly as he went into his office and shut the door behind him with a bang.

Prentiss went to stand next to Morgan as he stared intently at Reid's office door. She hoped Morgan wouldn't lose his temper on Reid. Reid of course would probably think she had something to do with it after all.

"Ok, I'm getting really sick of being lied to." He said angrily.

Gideon was already sitting in the conference room as the rest of the team filed in. He did not acknowledge their presence at first because he was looking at the crime scene photos quite thoroughly.

JJ meddled with her laptop so she could project the images for the whole team to see. They were quite brutal and she winced slightly at some of the images.

The pictures were of teenage boys around 16 or 17 years old. They were outdoors and by the visible snow the pictures looked like they had been taken around February.

"These boys were murdered at Opaque Academy in upstate New York." JJ said as she turned on a slide of the front of the school. The school looked quite well off as though the wealthiest of wealthy sent their little darlings there.

As she turned to the next slide Reid slipped in through the door. They all looked up again and he blushed slightly. He hated it when they all put him on the spot like that. In his opinion they were acting like they were still in high school.

He took a seat next to Gideon and looked at the screen, but nobody said anything.

"What? You don't have to stop just because I was a minute late." He said in a huff.

The whole team exchanged nervous glances and they continued with the evaluation of the case. JJ went to the next slide of the first body that was found on the grounds of the school.

"His name was Richard Harrison. He was the son of a very wealthy DA which you may or may not be familiar with. The wrists had ligature marks showing that he was captured before hand and then dumped. Cause of death was blood force trauma to the head. He was tortured and after he was killed the unsub shot him 5 times in the stomach."

Gideon nodded at her as a sign that she could sit and he would take over.

"The boy was found on the grounds of the school almost as if the unsub wanted his death to be displayed as a type of humiliation." Gideon said as he examined each photo carefully.

Reid felt so self conscious in the room. He felt cold all over, but he was sweating. He wondered if the team knew about his drug use. They probably did knowing them and it would be a matter of time before they replaced him with someone older and not as much as a "kid" as they called him sometimes, he thought to himself.

"The killer in the case of the Black Dahlia did the same thing by putting his victims in public areas. Lucky for us he was chopped up and drained of blood." Reid said not making eye contact with anyone.

"Well we're not done quite yet." Gideon said. "The next victim was Billy Lansford, another kid with a rich daddy. He was found in the same manner, but sliced down the middle after being strangled."

"Why would a killer change his MO so drastically." asked Morgan studying the disturbing picture before him.

"Maybe he wasn't getting enough attention for the first killing." Said Hotch.

"Why would you say that?" asked Prentiss as she was a bit confused with his statement.

"The school is a highly prestigious one and they only had a small investigation. Wanted to keep it on the downside." said Gideon with an annoyed confession.

"Well that explains why we were called in so late." JJ said as Hotch handed her a picture to look at.

Reid didn't feel like speaking with them. Everyday at the office it felt more and more like his childhood days. Everyone underestimated him because of his age. They all thought he was weak and defenseless.

"That's another problem" Hotch said to the team. "The school doesn't want any media attention or anyone to be worried. They don't even want us going there actually."

"Great, so nobody's going to even spill anything." Morgan said tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Most likely not…" Hotch responded.

"Well, we have another option." Gideon said. "If someone could go undercover and be at the school first hand we might have a chance at cracking this."

TBC


	3. Chapter 2 Changes From Within

A/C You guys are all so sweet. Thank you so much for the reviews and all the hits I've been getting. I made a few mistakes in the last chapter and thank you to all who corrected me 

After Gideon spoke the whole room fell silent. In there working together at the BAU it had been rare for Gideon to suggest an undercover case. They were intense procedures and it was like putting one of your team members out as bait.

"Undercover?" asked Hotch even though he had heard Gideon clearly the first time. "Do you really think that's the right way to approach this? I mean we've seen what this unsub is capable of."

Prentiss and Morgan seemed to be deep in thought. Morgan had been on an undercover case before so he knew the risks, but it seemed like the only probable way to get the information they needed with a school that would not give any information. Prentiss had a different question on her mind.

"It seems like a good idea seeing the circumstances. But who would be put undercover and in what way?" she asked them openly with concern. "It's a boys boarding school after all so what would we make the person undercover?"

"She has a point you know. If we put someone in as a teacher it might look suspicious and they wouldn't get that much information." Morgan said.

"I was thinking more along the lines of someone going as a new student." Gideon said eyeing Reid.

"Well that would be a great plan, but who could pass as a student?" Hotch asked as he yawned again. He felt as though he was going to fall asleep anytime then.

"Reid." Gideon said softly and he continued to look over their youngest agent.

Reid did not show it in his face, but he felt more paranoid than ever. Of course they wanted to use him for something like that. He was quite paranoid as a result of the drugs so his thoughts were quite insane. He thought that this was part of their plan to get rid of him. They wanted him to fail just so they wouldn't have to deal with the baby of the team. That of course was the not the situation at all.

"Me?" he asked frowning with a paranoid look in his eyes. "You think that I could pass for a high school student."

Not knowing Reid's state of mind the rest of the team didn't see his question as paranoid and like he was insulted by their opinions.

"Well, people have said you look quite young for your age in the past so, yes." Gideon said as the rest of team nodded in agreement.

Gideon wasn't positive yet if they should let him go. He had been acting fairly odd lately and something like this could push him off the edge. Another thought came to Gideon's mind though. This could also be just the thing to help Reid, to show him that he is an important part of the team and not just a "kid". Gideon had no idea Reid looked at it more as insulting and embarrassing.

"Oh well it's great to know you all have been discussing me." Reid hissed as he clenched his fist in annoyance under the table. The drugs had made him a bit temperamental.

"Reid it's not like that." Hotch said in a sympathetic tone of voice which took a lot out of him after being so tired.

"You know what, fine I'll do it." He said quickly gritting his teeth and still not making eye contact with anyone.

Gideon and Hotch gave each other a look that they both understood. They needed to discuss this thoroughly before making any rash decisions. Reid was obviously quite fragile, but they needed to break him out of it with something important such as this.

Morgan on the other hand was worried as hell. He didn't think Reid could handle something like this after all the things that he had been doing lately. By instinct, even though Reid had pissed him off, he wanted to protect his friend who had always been like a little brother to him. Reid knew that Morgan thought this and it bothered him even more.

"Well first of all we should get Garcia to get some background checks on those kids to see who they were friends with and what they were involved in at school. Morgan can you get her on that?" said Hotch.

"Yeah, no problem." He said getting up to go pay a visit to his good ole friend.

"JJ, I need you to contact other offices to get the things we need for this. I don't think it will be a good idea to wire him so we need other measures of security." Gideon told her.

"Got it." She said with a nod heading back to the bull pen.

"Prentiss can you excuse us for a bit. Why don't you go help Morgan?" Hotch said nodding towards the door with a serious expression.

"Reid, we just want to have a quick word with you before this all starts." Gideon said in his normal calm voice that he always used when trying to reason with Reid.

Every word they spoke Reid's mind twisted into something else. He over analyzed the smallest details of their movements and words. The paranoia was overwhelming and he hated feeling this way. It made his friends seem like monsters. Reid was glad the drugs were wearing off.

"What would you like to discuss? You don't think I can handle it d-do you?!" he asked wit ha slight stutter. The withdrawal seemed to be starting up.

Gideon hoped that it would not come down to this. He could tell that something was up with the agent that he had always had a bond with. After Reid was kidnapped he saw a belt on the cabin floor and he hoped that no drugs were involved, but now he was not so sure. Gideon just wanted Reid to understand and become the Reid they all knew and loved again. He seemed obligated to make sure his agent, and friend was alright.

"No, I didn't say that. We just want to know whether you can handle it. A case like this isn't exactly a walk in the park." He said in a tranquil tone of voice.

"It's just procedure." Said Hotch. "Going undercover can be hard, and we just want to make sure you're safe.

Even though their words made perfect sense and would have normally made him feel secure and satisfied his influenced mind twisted them around in his head.

"Alright I understand. But don't worry guys I'm really fine." He lied. "I've just been tired lately."

Although Gideon didn't believe him 100 he smiled and gave Reid a friendly pat as he got up from his chair.

"I'll have to get all the paperwork in order." Said Hotch. "Also, we should only let a select few at the school know about Reid. The ones chosen will have to sign a contract of course for precautions."

"That's a good idea. I talked to the head of the school before and he's pretty reasonable. I'm sure he'll know who can be trusted." Gideon said.

"Let's get to work."

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Prentiss had caught up with Morgan as he was heading toward Garcia's office which should have really been called a space station with all the computers and technology in there. She felt uneasy about the whole case with Reid. As they all knew he was not very stable at the moment. But she figured Gideon had some logic behind it as he always did.

"So, what do you think of all this?" she asked Derek who had a stern look that could have been one of Hotch's expressions.

"Well, I can tell Gideon noticed the same things we did. But I think this whole thing could be good for Reid. You know, to give him some space to breath." He said thinking about his first undercover operation. It had been long and difficult, but it had been one of the best learning experiences of his career.

"I don't know, do you think there could be more to what's going on with Reid than just being traumatized and moody?" she wondered aloud.

"What do you mean like drugs?" Morgan asked stopping in his tracks.

"Well… yes." She said feeling bad she was talking about her friend in such a manner.

"There are a few signs, but it just doesn't make sense. Reid's smarter than that."

"You never know…" she said trailing off as Reid stepped out of the conference room looking her square in the eye then walking away.

The two of them walked into Garcia's office after their discussion. Morgan hoped Reid hadn't heard anything, but they had been pretty distanced so it was very unlikely.

"Hey, what's up you two?" she asked as she spun around in her chair towards them. Her ensemble was made up of a hot pink top with a slightly plunging neckline and some plaid cropped pants. She didn't care for the FBI dress code so they just let her do her own thing so she'd help them.

"Well for starters we have an undercover case." Prentiss said leaning against one of the many desks.

"Oh, is it you hot stuff?" she said winking at Derek playfully.

"No, it's Reid." He said flatly.

"Oh… really?" she asked with a worried expression. Being concerned for Reid seemed to be the new fad these days.

"Yeah…" said Prentiss.

"Well anyways, what do you guys need? Something out of my fountain of infinite knowledge I presume." She said with a grin.

"You know it." Derek said leaning over her chair. "We need information on a Richard Harrison and a Billy Lansford of Opaque Academy. The basic school activities, schedules, records, and any pictures where they might have been with friends."

"Gotcha sugar." Garcia said. "Give me ten minutes."

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Reid walked out of the conference room feeling like crap. He was sweating like crazy, but the coldness he had felt last night had returned. He had no clue what he was going to do. With the drugs worn off he had the state of mind to think clearly. Reid was embarrassed by the way he had acted with the team. They probably thought he was going insane. As much as he hated the drugs he wanted them so badly.

After a few moments of thoughts he headed towards the bathroom.

TBC


	4. Chapter 3 Uneasy Betrayal

A/C Thank you for all of you that have been reviewing my story. All the suggestions and compliments have definitely driven me to write better. Keep reviewing .

The lights always seemed brighter in bathrooms. Maybe it was the gleam off of tiles or maybe it was done purposely to be cheap since not everyone spends most of their days in there. Reid went into the bathroom and saw that nobody was in there. It was a relief to him because he didn't want anyone to worry.

The withdrawal from the drug had been worse than expected and Reid felt faint and nauseas. He went into a stall and vomited up all he had eaten that day. The acidy taste burned his mouth so he flushed and drank some water from the sink from his hands. Just as he had the previous night he looked at himself in the mirror. He knew he looked weak and nothing like a well respected FBI agent should.

"You're pathetic…" he said to himself quietly. He then headed out of the office back into the bull pen.

He saw Morgan and Prentiss talking about something. From the looks on their faces it was something serious, probably about him he thought. Prentiss had been striking his nerves lately whether he wanted to admit it or not. At times he just felt like smacking her across the face, but those were the occasions when he was drugged. Morgan however, there was no excuse for. His longtime friend seemed more and more like a stranger. They had been so distant lately. Reid knew that he was upset that Reid had lied back in New Orleans, but Morgan was no saint either.

Just to see if he really was the topic of their conversation Reid started walking towards them. As he expected they stopped talking immediately. Now he was still quite paranoid so any expression, look, or action would have made him think that they were talking about him. They had actually been discussing the case and the unusual changes in the MO.

"What's going on?" he asked with a look of content on his face.

"Nothing much. Just talking about the case. Hey, uh Reid can I talk to you for a sec." Morgan said leading him away from Prentiss. "It's getting late, how about lunch?"

"I'm not sure… what's the matter?" Reid asked trying to play dumb as he expected what Morgan was going to say. Morgan had probably noticed changes in him more than anyone.

"Look Reid you're my friend." He said with a calm smile. "I've known you for a few years now and, well…. I know when something is up."

"And what is that." Reid replied starting to get irritated.

"Even now look at you. You're just about ready to jump down my throat. I want _you _to tell me what's wrong." He said putting his hand on Reid's shoulder.

"I told Gideon and I'll tell you, I'm just really tired lately." Reid said with determination hoping that he would never have to tell his friend what he had been doing lately.

"You having nightmares or something?" Morgan looking concerned.

"More like not being able to sleep at all. And I always feel cold…" he said surprised at himself for telling part of the truth.

"Reid, if you're feeling this way maybe it isn't the right option to do the investigation. You could be going through PTSD."

"You guys will never let me forget what happened to me will you? I just want to forget! And no, I'm doing this case and I don't want you involved at all." Reid yelled for everyone in the bull pen to hear. They all gave Morgan disappointed looks for upsetting their colleague.

"Morgan, really you should know to be careful with him these days." Said Gideon as the two of them watched Reid go down in the elevator to probably grab lunch.

"Than why are you letting him do this? I just don't understand it!" he said angrily.

"Derek, he needs this. His scars need time to fade." Gideon said and he himself walked to go down in the elevator.

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The noise of ongoing traffic on the streets near the FBI building made Reid's head pound. Everything was all too much for him to handle anymore. He just wanted to walk away and never come back. He wanted to throw the drugs into the ocean. He wanted just someone to understand him. But all of those things he wanted seemed out of the question for the time being.

Reid was not sure where he was going to go. He hadn't eaten anything in a few days so it would have been a good idea to get some food into his system. But he just wasn't hungry at all because anorexia was one of the effects of the drugs he had found out online. It made him regret his decision even more, but just thinking about it wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Reid!" Gideon shouted as he trotted over in a slight jog to catch up with him. "Hey, look don't worry about Morgan he was just worried about you."

"Yeah well I just wish everyone would stay out of my business." He hissed as he continued to walk down the sidewalk.

"You look like a ghost. Come on I'll buy you lunch. We need to discuss the procedures of the case anyway." He said leading Reid towards his car in the garage.

Reid hesitated for a minute. He couldn't keep avoiding everyone or they would definitely not trust him so he just said, "Fine."

Gideon got behind the wheel of the car and Reid sat in the passenger seat. He was usually in the back in Gideon's car since there was usually someone else with them, but here he could not avoid his superior's staring and talking. They drove out of the garage and went down the street.

"Anywhere in particular?" he asked.

"No. I don't care." Reid replied staring out the window at the street. He would have preferred the cold streets than having to talk about his problems which he knew Gideon would bring up.

"Alright, Chinese it is." Gideon said with a smile.

Reid hoped there wouldn't be chopsticks involved. He could never master how to use them at all. As much as he studied the Chinese culture nothing could help him to know how to use chopsticks.

"I already know what you want to talk about. But I thought we had this talk a few weeks ago." He said glad to finally express himself.

"Yes that's true. But, Reid you've been so different lately I don't even know what to say. You hardly talk, you're paranoid, and you look more tired than I've ever seen you. I'm not trying to be hard on you, but you've changed…" he said.

Reid's heart iced over and his stomach twisted into a knot. Gideon's words had hurt him. Did Gideon think he actually enjoyed feeling this way? Did he think he was doing it on purpose? Reid didn't know what to think anymore.

For awhile he didn't say anything. If he had no dignity he would have broken down right then and there. He could not give this opportunity away. Being successful on this case was his one chance of Gideon having the least bit of respect for him.

"Are people talking about me? I mean in a bad way, like behind my back?" he blurted out. If he didn't find out soon he felt like he was going to explode.

"No not in a bad way. But people are concerned for you, I can say that. Myself included."

Reid wanted to believe him, but it just seemed to far fetched. It felt like he was back in high school and he could hear people insulting him and putting him down, but they would just say we're talking about you in a good way, which was total bull he even knew as a twelve year old. It annoyed him that he had to put up with the same thing from the people he called his friends.

He just wanted to tell Gideon about the drugs. It was tearing him up inside not to. Reid wanted help, but he wanted to prove himself even more with his undercover case. It was like a game of tug-o-war with his brain and heart.

During lunch the subject was dropped and they just talked about the case. It was the only time where Reid felt like nothing was wrong. He could always concentrate on work even if his personal state was crumbling into the ocean. Reid basically knew everything about undercover operations after taking classes on them in early in his training.

While worrying about other things he had completely forgotten that he would have to be a high school student again. Memories flowed back of the miseries he had to endure. He doubted anything would change even though he looked like he should be in high school. Gideon also explained that from research done by Garcia the two boys were jocks and practically flunking out of school. Reid got nervous by this.

"You might be an easy target for bullying, but that's a good thing since that's what most jocks take part in. The closer you get to them the better. I'm not saying I want you to get hurt or anything, but just try to stay there and stick up for yourself instead of running. You'll get more information that way." Gideon said.

"The case file said there's suspected hazing going around at the school. Do you think that has something to do with the murders." He wondered aloud.

"Good observation. Yes, that could be the case. I'll have Garcia look into it more and while you're at the school find out as much as you can."

"Do you want me to hang around with a certain social group?" he asked.

"No offense, but I don't think the football players will greet you with open arms so I'd stick with people who you find most like yourself. To get more of an outside view." Gideon said sipping some of his tea.

"Also…" Gideon added. "I think it would make you look more younger to wear those glasses you have. I know you have contacts now, but they really do make a difference."

"Alright no problem." Reid said.

From all that Gideon was saying he expected an unpleasant experience. Even though Gideon didn't come out and say it he knew that he was an automatic nerd. Jocks just hated him and they always would. His time at Opaque Academy he already knew would be pure hell.


	5. Chapter 4 Letting Go of Darkness

A/C This fan fiction has been so much fun to do over the last few days. I hope to do more in the future, but don't worry, this one has got my full attention. I also hope that all who have been reading are enjoying it. Since I myself get really anxious over waiting for stories to be updated I'm going to try and update everyday. Well enjoy!

Sleep, by definition means to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness. We all need it and spend a good percentage of our lives in a sleeping state. Some even desire to sleep more than anything. Spencer Reid was just like that.

After having a long lunch with Gideon they had returned to the office. There was nothing much for Reid to do so Gideon sent him home to rest up since he would be leaving in less than two days. He felt a bit guilty that the rest of the team was working their asses off for him and he wasn't helping one bit. Reid offered, but Hotch insured him that everything was being handled already and the only thing he could do was to prepare himself. Reid didn't know whether to believe him since the team all seemed like they didn't want to be around him. That could have been the reason, but Hotch meant it. Reid decided he didn't care anymore. He knew that he just needed to focus on his job and not what others thought of him. That was his same strategy in high school.

Reid drove the route to his house in some light traffic. He was glad he hadn't had to deal with rush hour, but Reid felt unsatisfied by the amount of work he had accomplished. Reid did not truly want to go home. He knew that sleep would not come easy and that the drugs in his bathroom would be calling to him. Just thinking about it made him squirm a bit and he bit into his lower lip causing it to bleed a little. He made a mental note to buy some chap stick.

As he got closer it started to snow a little bit. There was a lot of moisture in the air, but that very air was freezing cold. Reid remembered how much he despised March. He got out of his car and was greeted by the cold unforgiving wind whipping him in the face. His cheeks stung from the coldness. Reid rushed to get his bag and laptop out of the backseat. It was only four o'clock and the sky looked like nighttime covered with clouds. His emotions seemed to bleed into the elements around him.

Going home to his empty and cold apartment was a vague reminder of his place in the world. He never seemed to stop being a loner even though now he had friends, if he could still call them that. Reid knew that Morgan had been upset with him for awhile about his sudden changes. Usually he called just to exchange words or to see if Reid wanted to grab some dinner, but now the two seemed like strangers that just exchanged greetings that contained coldness beyond the layers.

He sighed as he entered through the front door. It was even colder than it had been the previous night. Reid felt exhausted and he didn't feel like putting up plastic. He knew if he didn't do it soon he'd forget. But then he remembered he wouldn't even be living in his apartment for awhile. It would be strange to be sleeping somewhere else, probably sharing a dorm with a kid six years younger than he was. Reid thought about what the others said about him looking like a high school kid. As he thought about it their words pierced him hard in his mind. They probably always cracked jokes about him when he wasn't around. Reid had shared a room with Morgan plenty of times and when he thought about it, it made him self conscious. Morgan had probably been laughing about him in his head. No. Reid knew he had to stop thinking like he was or he was going to drive himself crazy, if he wasn't already.

Reid shivered slightly as he walked through his home. He needed a shower to warm himself up. He got undressed, got in, and washed up enjoying the temporary warmth. When he got out he was even chillier than before. Reid quickly got into his pajamas and hopped into bed. He rolled over a few times trying to get comfortable, but he felt as though he were lying on a bed of needles. He knew it was psychological, but that made him feel only worse. Sleep was not coming easy and he knew he needed to make himself so he headed for the bathroom.

He saw the bottles and the syringe still lying in the sink from last night. He picked them up carefully and put them in the medicine cabinet. Reid didn't want to have to use them again. Instead he got out a bottle of sleeping pills. He knew well enough to only take two which would work well enough. Getting back into bed he already felt drowsy. Reid felt the dreams of sleep coming towards him under his eyelids, but they transformed into vivid nightmares full of darkness.

In the dream he was back in the graveyard again. It was terribly cold and he could see his breath. The shovel was in the hands of Tobias now. Reid knew that this would have probably been his fate if the team hadn't saved him. He was scared even in the dream, but he knew the team would come. They never did. After a moment there was a deep hole dug across the graveyard. Tobias grabbed Reid and dragged him to it as though he was prisoner of the middle ages about to be beheaded. Around them were lines of people Reid could recognize right away. They were kids he knew from high school. All of them had glares and snarls on their faces. At the same time some were smiling evilly. When they finally reached the dark hole Reid could see the bottom. In the darkness lied what it seemed like millions of syringes filled with the dilaudid that he was so highly addicted to. Tobias tried to grab him. But he clung to the moist ground and clawed at the soil screaming and sobbing for help.

"Please! Tobias, please don't!" Reid yelled aloud.

Finally loosing his strength Reid fell down into the darkness. He could feel the hundreds of needles pricking his skin. He screamed and yelled for his friends to come and save them. Slowly Gideon, Hotch, Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, and Garcia approached. Reid could see their faces clearly and they were holding black lit candles. Their faces were cold and they ignored his cries.

"We can't help you, It's too late." They said over and over again sounding robotic.

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Reid could feel himself being shaken. He was screaming loudly. As he woke suddenly he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Reid, calm down. It's ok." Morgan said gently as he stood next to Reid's bed.

"Wha-what's going on?" he asked feeling like he had just fallen out of a moving car.

"It's eleven. I think you might have overslept." Morgan said with a smile. He hoped Reid would accept a little sense of humor.

His eyes widened ignoring Morgan's jokes. Reid was rushing to get up and get ready to leave. He hoped the team wouldn't think badly of him even more. This had been the third time he had been late in a few weeks. Morgan stopped him in his tracks by grabbing him.

"Reid it's alright. They know you haven't slept well in awhile so nobody really minds." He said.

"Than why are you here?" he asked coldly as he turned his back to his past friend. There friendship was falling apart and they both knew it.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were alright just in case. I'll leave right now if you want." He said shaking his head at his unsuccessful attempt at trying to repair their friendship.

He started to walk to the door when Reid began to speak. "No!" he said quickly. "I want to talk this time…" he said with a weak smile hoping his friend would understand.

Morgan smiled back and they both headed to the small kitchen. "Why don't we sit down?" Morgan asked taking a seat at Reid's table.

Reid didn't know where to start. There was so much he wanted to say, but some things he just didn't know if he could confess to. Confession, he thought in his mind. It was just another confession. At that moment he winced remembering the last time he had confessed to something. It had only resulted in a death.

"I-I'm sorry… I've been so, different lately. I don't even know what's wrong with me." Reid said staring at the floor.

"Reid, talk to _me_ not the floor." Morgan said feeling concerned for his friend more than he had in the past few days. "Just come out and say it, please. Like ripping off a band aid."

"When I was… taken, something happened to me, more than the torture or the beatings. Morgan, Tobias gave me… drugs. I think I'm addicted." Reid said breaking down into sobs.

"I knew that wasn't your true self. Reid, you should have told me, I can help you." Morgan said comforting his friend.

"What? You're just going to tell Hotch and Gideon or someone…" he said afraid about what was going to happen in the future.

"Reid, come on, you know I wouldn't if you didn't want me to." Morgan said feeling like Reid had no faith in him. "You used to trust me, what happened?"

"This! Everything! I don't know… I'm a drug addict mental case remember?" Reid shouted getting angry once again.

"Nobody has ever said anything like that about you. You have to believe me Reid. We all care about you and have been worrying our asses off. Do you know what this is doing to all of us? Watching you become a different person we don't even recognize, its damn torture."

Reid had not realized this before. Morgan was right, he was affecting everyone by acting this way. He needed to get back into reality and back on track. He was slowly loosing his friends and all respect from people, and it needed to stop.

"You're right. I have changed… But how can you help me?" Reid asked feeling utterly helpless in this mess that was called his life.

"Where are the drugs?" Morgan asked bluntly.

"They're in the bathroom, why?" he asked following Morgan as he got up.

Morgan picked up the bottles and handed them to Reid. He had a look of determination that nobody would want to mess with. He wanted to save his friend from the destruction he was inducing onto himself.

"Dump em'" he commanded. "Dump them down the drain." Reid gave a look of distress. It was all too much. How could Morgan make him just pour them down the drain? It was so hard to do.

"I don't know if I can…" he said weakly.

"It's the only way Reid. Getting rid of them for good will stop the addiction. You have to cut off your supply."

Reid looked down at the drugs. He felt so guilty for even getting into this mess. But then he came to the realization that it wasn't his fault. It was Tobias's fault. Everything seemed to be lately. But he couldn't keep thinking about it, he had to let go and make the right decision. Reid opened up the bottles and dumped them into the sink and turned on the faucet the get the powder to wash down. He looked up at Morgan who was nodding his head in approval.

It was done for good.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

That day with approval from Hotch and Gideon, Morgan and Reid just sat in his apartment talking. They hadn't talked in awhile and it felt nice for Reid to finally let it all out. He felt like they were really friends again and that he could come to him. There wasn't much work to be done at the office because of the preparation for Reid's assignment.

The next day however Reid had to be prepped since he was leaving for the school in 24 hours. With a clear head and a full stomach he felt better than he had in a long time. He could think and actually focus on his job, and not on his paranoid thoughts. The team definitely noticed a difference and they had Morgan to thank.

Reid was now sitting with Gideon and Hotch in the conference room. He had to know his story and background that people had created for him. He felt a bit nervous since he had never been that good of an actor, but he would try his hardest and concentrate. They went over the information a few times and then tried to see if he remembered. He needed to sound convincing.

"What's your name?" Gideon asked in his interrogation voice trying to purposely intimidate Reid. It was an act of course, but Reid needed to know how people asking him these questions would sound.

"James Shepard." He stated confidently.

"Where do you come from?"

"Detroit." He said quickly.

"You have to try and be more casual about it." Hotch said trying to help in any way he could.

"Why'd you come here anyway?" Gideon asked trying to sound more like a teenager.

"Well…" Reid started.

"Reid, you have to know this." Gideon said constructively.

"I know I know. Ask me again." Reid said feeling a bit stupid that he couldn't even have a fake conversation let alone a real one.

"Why did you come here?" Gideon repeated again.

"My parents didn't like my old high school. It was a public one. So when my dad got promoted in his job they had the money to send me here." He said as casually as he could.

"Very good." Hotch said smiling slightly.

"What's your dad do? Let me guess is he a librarian, because I can tell he gave you those glasses." Gideon said accompanied with a death glare.

"Uhh…" Reid stuttered.

"Hey I'm just being realistic." Gideon said. "I wasn't serious if you want to know.

"No he's actually a police officer." Reid said timidly.

"Reid come on, are you going to take that from him." Hotch said with a grin. Wow, Reid thought, Hotch has the ability to laugh. He had always thought there had been some complications when he was born that prevented him from laughing.

"Can we continue?" Reid asked slightly annoyed. He didn't know what he would actually say to insults. He had a fast mind, but he was terrible with comebacks. Even if he did retort he'd still look like a loser.

They continued the session for another hour so that Reid could get the information down. When they were finally done they handed him his school uniform. It contained a maroon blazer, a black sweater vest, a white dress shirt, tan pants, and a grey tie.

The team had driven him to try it on with smiles on their faces. They were glad the Reid they knew was back, but they were all sad he would be gone for awhile with them waiting to see if it turned out alright. When he came out of the bathroom he smiled just like he used to. They all laughed and fooled around. Morgan gave a whistle while Reid turned around once.

"No offense man, but wow you really do look seventeen in that outfit."

"Hey, in a few years that'll be a good thing." Reid laughed.

After another hour of just hanging out with the team since everything was done with Gideon received a phone call. He came out of his office.

"Reid, it's time."


	6. Chapter 5 Move Along

A/C Thank you all for reviewing and sending me messages. I'm really sorry for the wait everyone. I've had so much to do at school. Enjoy!

Outside a heavy downpour of rain emerged from the sky. It had been raining a lot lately and it wasn't even April yet. The whole team was on their way to the airport. The time had finally come for Reid to go to the school. They were all feeling mixed emotions at this point. Gideon, Hotch, Prentiss, JJ, and Morgan had all decided to take their own cars. Meanwhile Reid rode with Morgan and Garcia went with JJ.

Their headquarters were not that far from the airport so they did not expect a long ride. Traffic was moving well, but they were afraid that the weather conditions would affect the flight time. They were all quite grim since they despised delays.

Reid felt quite anxious riding in the car. He did not know what to expect for the next day. He felt like he did when he had first skipped a few grades, but he hoped the results wouldn't be the same. Lately he had been thinking about his childhood often. It seemed like one scar he could just not seem to get rid of. Not feeling like talking, Reid continued to gaze out the window at the heavy raindrops splattering and dripping down the window.

Morgan took glances at Reid when he was not looking. He always seemed deep in thought and he knew not to disturb him. He knew that things would not be perfectly normal. High schools were breeding grounds for drugs, but he knew Reid would make the right decision. One thing that Reid couldn't decide was the withdrawal. He had researched the affects and they weren't that devastating. He trusted his friend to be strong.

They finally reached the airport twenty minutes later. They rain was letting up a bit, but nothing could evaporate the tension that lurked in the air. It's funny how one moment things can seem fine and the next you're worrying on the edge of your seat, thought Gideon as he looked at his team. Hotch still looked very tired. Gideon hoped he'd get a good night sleep on the plane, if that's even possible for anyone.

"I wonder how many flights we've been on these past few years." JJ wondered aloud as they entered through the doors of the airport. They all were aware which terminal to go to since it was a private one that they took every time out of Virginia.

"Just thinking about it gives me a headache." Morgan said lugging his heavy bag over his shoulder.

"How much stuff did you back?" Prentiss said smiling at Morgan. He was quite the character she thought. She also noticed women in the airport looking at him. She guessed that was where his ego came from.

"Hey, we don't even know how long we'll be there." He said. After he realized that those hadn't been the right words. Putting Reid on the edge was the last thing he wanted after everything that happened. He still felt a tinge of guilt after not telling anyone about the addiction. He knew that Gideon was already aware just from signs, but he wasn't sure about the rest of the team. After Reid gave up the drugs he had told Gideon that everything was taken care of and he had gotten the message.

Being part of the FBI they really didn't have to go through all the stress of security and baggage inspection. They just passed in through into the private jet. Garcia had come along to see the team off, but she had to stay back to have access to all her computers. She would also be one of the only people Reid would have contact with. Before they left she hugged everyone, but held onto Reid for the longest. Maybe she thought he wasn't coming back, Reid thought. He shook his head trying to knock out the paranoia that was slowly coming back through the withdrawal.

Reid's hands had been shaking as they made their way up the stairs into the jet. It was terribly cold and he had been drinking too much coffee, but another cause was that he was quite nervous. His stomach felt like it was in a giant knot that kept getting more and more tangled by the minute. Not to mention the feeling of butterflies was overwhelming. Gideon followed him up as the last person to go in. He noticed Reid's every action.

The take off was a bit bumpy giving a few members of the team stomach aches. Gideon and Prentiss played a game of chess while JJ and Morgan played cards. Hotch was having a conversation with the Head of the school. They were discussing who knew about Reid and who didn't. The conversation continued about safety measures and heap load of other things that would give anyone a headache. Reid lay on the couch pretending to sleep, but tried to listen to every word his team said. Nothing was said about him really other than Hotch's conversation, but that different. Soon he fell into a true sleep.

Another dream lurked into his mind as he slept. He was at his Las Vegas public high school. It was strange though because he wasn't the twelve year old he was the last time he was there, he was the present Reid. He could feel people's sharp glances and stares as he kept walking down an everlasting hall way. Reid walked to the end of the hall way and he saw the mangled body of the teens in a pool of blood. He could feel someone's presence behind him suddenly. As he turned he saw someone in a black sweatshirt, it was Tobias. He stabbed Reid in the shoulder with a syringe.

He woke up with a shock. Reid was now on the floor of the jet and his team was staring at him. He hoped he hadn't been talking or screaming or something that would make them worried. His shoulder felt sore, but he supposed it was only psychological since he had been stabbed there in the dream. He was getting sick of dreaming.

"You alright Reid?" Morgan asked making eye contact trying to send a certain message. He hoped Reid didn't want the drugs. But he reassured himself that it was probably nothing but a dream.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." He said with a nod to answer Morgan. He felt a desire for the drugs sure, but he had it under control. At least that was what he thought.

DAY 1 UNDERCOVER

The flight wasn't that bad, but the whole team felt like crap as anyone would after a flight. It was around three in the morning as they landed in upstate NY in Syracuse Airport. Luckily the town wasn't much farther away. It was plain freezing in upstate NY and snow was piled up high along the roads. They all sympathized for Reid since he had to attend actual classes that day after such little sleep.

At 4 o'clock they got to the police department. Gideon hoped they wouldn't be resistant to them as many small town cops were. He was in no mood to be called a "feeb" or put up with anything about them stealing their case when they could handle it. He knew that everyone had a long day ahead of them.

Hotch felt more guilty than tired as he entered the office of the local PD. It was Haley's birthday tomorrow and even though he remembered which was good, he had no way of spending it with her. Hotch felt even guiltier that he felt that making sure Reid was alright was more important.

On the plane Gideon and Hotch had showed Reid all the electronics and devices that he would be using. They helped him put them on once he was at the office. He would be wearing a small chip placed in a bracelet that he would wear. It allowed them to track him wherever he went to make sure he was ok. The only other thing he would have is a cell phone and laptop for communication purposes. He would call Garcia as a contact and refer to her as his aunt if anyone asked. But the rest of the team could be available by email. After getting everything in order Reid got dressed in his boarding school attire and they headed off to Opaque Academy.

Gideon was the only person who left to go with Reid. The rest of the team were forced to say their goodbyes not even knowing how long until they would finally see and talk to Reid as Reid. The drive to the school was longer than they had expected. They went in a rental car and Gideon would drop Reid off at the administration building.

Seeing how nervous and tense Reid appeared Gideon figured he needed some sort of a pep talk.

"You're going to be fine. Don't worry about it. You're a trained FBI agent and they're just a bunch of kids." He said with a look that expressed what he said.

"Yeah, a bunch of kids who are killing each other." Reid said with a dry laugh.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It truly did feel like the first day of high school. Reid could not believe how even as a full grown adult he had some of the same worries as he did as a kid, but with other ones as well. They finally arrived at the building. Gideon nodded for Reid to exit the vehicle. Reid knew that he couldn't hesitate or it might look suspicious. Paranoia seemed like a big factor of being undercover for anyone.

The campus was fairly large. You could have fit over three public high schools on land that took up Opaque Academy. Reid noticed the name and worried about what it symbolized. Opaque was like fog and in fog not is all as it appears to be. He realized he might have been reading into it too much.

He could see other kids walking about the school. The admin building was close to the school's courtyard where a few boys were throwing around a football. Great, he thought to himself, a school full of meathead jocks. Reid could never understand why they would want to be out in the cold just to throw around an inflated piece of pigskin.

Luckily the building was heated that he walked into. The floor seemed as though it was made of a type of marble and many portraits of the school's founders could be seen on the walls. He saw a lady sitting at a desk and he thought he might as well ask her where to go since he didn't really know for sure. Gideon had only said, go to the administration building and that he'd find everything out there.

"Uhm, excuse me. I'm new here and I'm not sure where to go…" he said trailing off as the lady gave him a piercing look.

"Who are you?" she asked with a grimace reminding him of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland.

"James Shepard." He said relieved he hadn't slipped up. He wondered what the team was doing now. Maybe they were sleeping he thought in jealousy. He wanted to sleep so badly.

"Oh, you're the one? Mr. O'Brien is waiting for you in his office. Right through that door." She pointed out suddenly changing her disposition.

Reid went to where she pointed to and entered through the door.


	7. Chapter 6 Just Like Starting Over

A/C Thanks again for all the positive feedback. Now my school show is over so I'll be fully dedicated to writing again. 3

Reid walked into Mr. O'Brien's office with a bit of hesitation. The secretary's action had been fairly odd. Wasn't only a few people supposed to know about him? The office was carpeted from wall to wall in a deep forest green color. A thick wood siding was on the walls giving it a very manly feel to it. Everything in the office seemed to be made of thick wood.

Mr. O'Brien was a very round faced person that seemed to always be red in the face. His ears were quite large and his body was portly. The little hair he had left on his head, which was only about eight strands, was parted over his baldness. As Reid came into the office his frowning face turned into a jolly smile.

"Oh, hello Mr. Shepard." He said raising his eyebrows almost like he found it funny that they were putting on a type of act. "Peter you can leave". When he spoke to the other individual his words turned firm.

Reid hadn't even noticed the other boy who was sitting in a big leather arm chair directly across from Mr. O'Brien's office. He seemed tense and overall pissed off about something. As he exited he hit his shoulder against Reid's.

"Don't mind him some, he doesn't have any self-control." He said raising his voice at the last few words so that Peter could hear him before he slammed the door shut. "Now where were we?" he asked as he shuffled through papers on his very messy desk.

"Uhm, well… you obviously know who I am. So my boss told me to come to you for information on what to do first." He said acting professional. Even if he had to pretend to be a teenager he didn't plan on being one when it came to the profiling portion.

"Do you FBI people ever smile?" he asked chuckling to himself. "Well here's your schedule for classes." Mr. O'Brien said as he handed Reid the piece of paper. "You're people wanted you to be around people like the poor students who were murdered to get information so I'd suggest joining a sport."

Reid's heart dropped into his stomach. Of course they had to jocks. You could even tell by looking at the pictures that they were muscular and were dressed in jock-like clothing.

"I don't think I'm good at any sports." Reid admitted.

"Well didn't you have to pass a fitness test?" Mr. O'Brien asked in confusion since he assumed most FBI agents took pride in toning up.

"That was only running a few miles though…" Reid said before he was cut off.

"Track it is than." He interrupted with a smile. Then he sighed and said, "Richie ran track."

"Well, if his friends are there than fine." He said even though he was dreading actually having to be on some type of team thing. Although he was a pretty good runner, he probably wasn't as good as the others.

"Class has already started. So I think you are due in AP Euro." He said looking back down at other papers that didn't concern Reid at all.

"But, wait… who knows about me?" Reid asked confused at the lack of information he was given.

"Here's a list." Mr. O'Brien said still staring at his papers as he handed Reid another piece. "There's also a list of Richie's and Billy's friends on there just so you are aware. Also on your schedule is your dorm number and here's the key. You can go now."

"Thank you." Reid said starting to enter.

"Thank you, sir." Mr. O'Brien said with a serious expression.

"Right, thank you sir." said Reid. This guy was getting on his nerves. One minute he was all joking about everything and then he was making Reid call him sir. Reid shook the thoughts out of his head. You're taking him too seriously, he thought, he was probably just fooling around again. He couldn't be sure about anything at the present.

Reid looked down at his schedule to see the room number of AP Euro. It was 205 which meant it was on the second floor. It also said it was in the History Wing of the school which made sense. His schedule resembled one that he had in high school.

Finally after searching high and low he made it to the History Wing. Its exterior resembled all the other buildings, but unlike the admin building inside were hallways of polished maple floors. Climbing up the stairs he made it to room 205. No turning back, he thought to himself.

There was a window on the door leading into the classroom. He could see the teacher was talking and wasn't sure whether to interrupt or not. They could be one of those teachers who were laid back if you knocked and said "You really didn't have to knock." Or they could have been one who if you didn't knock got all mad at you for disturbing the class with notification. He just decided to knock since it was the most polite and logical.

The teacher's name was Mr. Lombardi. He was a huge beefy type of man with a head that seemed to be just made out of his neck. He had a full head of dark brown hair which appeared to be plugs and thick graying eyebrows that were placed into an automatic frown.

"Come in." he grunted as Reid went into the classroom.

Even though it was the midst of winter he felt as though bright lights were shining down on him as he entered the room causing him to feel warm. Everyone in the class automatically stared at him. Unlike his high school they were all boys. He hadn't expected it to be more hostile, but from just their expressions he could tell it would be. Unfortunately Mr. Lombardi was not one of the ones of the list so he just thought Reid was a normal student. Reid didn't know what to say.

"Oh, Mr. O'Brien said we'd be getting a new one today." He said in a deep booming voice. "Shepard, right?" he asked looking at a sheet of paper.

"Yes." Reid said quietly making eye contact with the teacher. He knew just by looking at him that if he didn't look this man straight in the eye he would get offended. That was one of the advantages of knowing how to profile.

"Take a seat. Here's a text book. We're on chapter 5." He said handing Reid the huge book with ease. Reid's arms struggled with it as he made his way down the row of seats. He could see some kids looking at him who appeared to play some type of sports. They were the same ones who he had seen playing football in the courtyard. They all gave him burning glares along with smirks.

Reid sat there for awhile just looking at his classmates. They all seemed to be talking about him. He had grown thick skin over the years so he didn't pay it any attention. He just studied how they acted. It made sense that they were all suspects in the eyes of local cops because they all seemed pretty hostile, but that was just high school. Reid wondered why, if it was even true, they would want to kill one of their friends. Maybe one of them was weaker and they thought he was bringing the team down. That could be a possibility, thought Reid.

The bell rang ending the class period. Reid heard the teacher announce the class homework and he wrote it down quickly. It was just a basic paragraph on the French Revolution which he knew everything about just in his head.

Walking out of the classroom one of the football kids elbowed him out of the way muttering, "Move it freak."

Reid just kept going and didn't think anything of it. He looked at his schedule once again and saw that he had study hall. He remembered it being quite a social period so maybe he could actually get some useful information other than the basic fact that jocks are asses.

&&&&&&&&&

The day was going by pretty fast. Reid remembered waiting when he was in school waiting and staring at the clock for the bell to ring. He already had known mostly everything they were teaching him so it was boring. Now education seemed to be going at a fast rate in Reid's opinion. He also had the entertainment of watching all the other boys act like idiots. None of them seemed smart enough to commit such a heinous yet brilliant crime, but not all is what it appears to be.

At sixth period it was time for lunch. Reid had been dreading it all day just like many years ago. Lunch was a breeding ground for verbal attacks and even some of the physical nature.

The cafeteria or as they called it at Opaque Academy, "the café", was a large and spacious room. It had a very modern feel to it with rounded tables covered in maroon table clothes and once again polished wood floors. There were many places to get food. It seemed like a tiny version of NYC with the options. There was a counter for Italian food. Also there was a place for Chinese, Mexican, and sandwiches.

Reid had no appetite so it didn't really matter, but he could just imagine how impressed his team would be with the school. He expected them to come sooner or later to investigate a little. That was going to be one of the more challenging things for him. He already missed everyone and not even making eye contact was going to be unbearable.

His head started to throb intensely. Reid knew that the withdrawal was coming back for another visit after not using for a few days. He had no drugs so there was no way he could give in. This was an advantage he had over his desire for them. He felt stupid for being so naive about the drugs. Just because he had one day with no withdrawal hadn't meant that it would be over for good.

Looking at everyone gathering for lunch made him realize how many students there actually were, and there were a lot of them. The younger ones were less likely to have had involvement especially since they didn't know the school all too well, but he couldn't rule anyone out just yet.

Now it was time to choose a table. There were hardly any empty ones and the ones that were seemed to have no chairs around them to sit in. He was about to resort to just walking out when someone came up behind him.

A guy who seemed to be a junior was standing in front of Reid. He had thick glasses that were even worse than Reid's own pair and a face full of red acne. For once he didn't feel that self-conscious about himself. This guy had it really bad. He could only imagine the things other guys put him through. But what did he want?

"Hey, I'm Matt. I see you're new here." He said with a grin. With the mood Reid was in he had a strong desire to make a sarcastic remark, but this kid could be useful. It might be his chance to get information about students.

"Yeah, I'm James." He said having the desire to say Spencer, but he stopped himself before the thought became his words.

"Well if you're not sitting with anyone in particular you wanna sit with me and my friends?" he asked in a friendly yet official tone. Reid could automatically tell that he was into school politics. _Well, at least he has friends_, Reid thought in his head.

"Uhm, yeah that'd be great" Reid said with a forced smile. The headache was getting worse and he worried about his thinning patience.

The table was filled with a variety of equally nerdy people. Reid could imagine Morgan making a joke about him finding his clique if he had seen him. As much as Morgan was a pain sometimes he really missed him. It was going to be weird not being around him or any of the team for that matter.

"This is Walter, Eric, Stan, and Pete." Matt said in a proud tone. He was obviously happy to have friends. Reid saw that they were better off than some people. He had seen one kind of gothic looking person being thrown against a locker causing a nose bleed. "Guy's this is James."

They all said hello to him looking happy to see an outsider from the boundaries of their school. Everyone was eating something except for Reid at the moment. He looked at each one of the boys and he recognized the one called Pete. He had been the one who had pushed Reid in the office earlier. Pete immediately assumed what Reid was thinking.

"Sorry about before." He said staring at his plate. "O'Brien just really ticks me off."

"Don't worry about it." Reid said. He didn't care what anyone did to him as long as he found out who had been killing those kids. He needed to prove himself.

"Are you planning on joining any activities?" Walter asked in a nasally tone of voice.

"Well, I was going to join the track team… but other than that I'm not sure." He said feeling weirdly self-conscious at the moment. _Damn withdrawal_, he thought.

"Are you sure you really want to?" Eric said nervously. He had a face that resembled a possums and was extremely freckly.

"Why do you say that?" Reid asked hoping that there was some meaning behind it other than some stupid high school thing.

"Well a few of them are on it." He said cocking his head towards a table filled with the jocks who had been talking about Reid earlier.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I like running a lot." He lied.

"How about any academic clubs?" asked Matt. "We're all on the mathletes and I'm junior class president." He said once again in the official voice. Wow had he been right about the school politics.

"I'm not sure at the moment. I was planning on just getting used to this place first." He admitted as James. Gideon had told him to just play an innocent newcomer.

"Where'd you come from?" Walter asked taking a bite of what looked like a peanut butter sandwich. The sight of food made Reid want to vomit.

"Detroit." He said trying to control himself from getting sick. "My parents didn't like the schools so they sent me here for my last two years of high school. I was planning on going to college in New York anyway so it kind of worked itself out."

After he spoke they all saw people a few tables down rise up all at once. They were coming towards them. All Reid could think was, _just my luck_.


	8. Chapter 7 Encounters

A/C This week has been so hectic with school. Many apologies for making people wait. Also thank you for the many recent reviews, I always look forward to your input. This chapter portrays a little more language that might be closer to mature since these are high school boys. Sorry if anyone is offended, but like I said it's high school.

Reid should have known. These guys he was with were definitely not the on the good side of the jocks. He didn't want to become victimized, he just wanted to look in as an outsider. Reid dreaded the thought of the same torture people put him through in high school. It would be even worse in some ways since he was older and others wouldn't have as much pity for him.

The guys were tall and broad shouldered. It seemed like they all played some kind of sport. Every day they loved tormenting anyone who they saw as weak. It angered them even more that a few of their own had been killed.

Reid watched them closely as they came toward them. They had smirks on their faces showing big egos and even maybe narcissistic tendencies. Even though he knew that they were automatically going to bother him or worse, it was a good opportunity to study them.

"Hey ladies." One of them said as they circled around the round table where Reid and everyone sat. He had an evil grin on his face. This was going to be harder than Reid thought. Practically everyone acted like a killer in high school. Everyone who was in the popular crowd anyway.

The whole table didn't respond. They remained quiet and stared down at their lunches. Reid had the urge to say something, but he knew he should follow what they were doing. Matt stood perfectly still as though he was a rabbit freezing in the presence of a predator.

"Excuse me but I think my friend said something to you." Another kid said with his teeth gritted as he grabbed Walter by his shirt with a firm grip and then threw him back in his chair. Reid looked around at a teacher getting their lunch. They obviously saw the commotion, but they just ignored it as though it wasn't important. He saw this and it angered him that nobody cared about them. Could that have happened to Richard or Billy?

"Just leave us alone Kyle." Matt said looking up weakly looking as though he was expecting pain. He had put up with a lot from them over the years, but sometimes he knew he had to say something.

"Did you just tell me what to do faggot?" Kyle asked in a deep angry tone. "Say something else and I'll beat the shit out of you."

Reid couldn't believe it. They were so loud and obviously breaking rules, but the teachers acted as if nothing was happening. If they weren't going to say something, he was.

"What's your problem? They didn't do anything to you." Reid said looking the kid called Kyle straight in the eyes. Eye contact was the key when getting someone to take you seriously. Unfortunately, Reid knew that it might not work on them.

"Shut the hell up freak. Nobody asked you." Another boy who Reid knew from one of his classes said. His name he remembered was Anthony.

"You think you're tough?" Kyle asked him. Then he came to the side of the table Reid was at. He grabbed Reid's hair and ranked him out of his seat by if. It hurt like hell. He wished he had a gun to pull out just to scare the crap out of them. "You're just a little shit like all your friends and no one gives a crap about you. Don't fucking mess with me!" he hissed.

After throwing Reid back into his chair he threw him down just as another boy had did to Walter. The rest of the group just stood there laughing the whole time. They all just seemed like cronies to the main guys of the group. They were like a pack of vicious wolves ready for the kill. They all left and went into the courtyard for a game of football.

"Did you decide on a topic for the debate?" Matt asked Walter as if nothing had happened. Reid was stunned by their reactions. They didn't feel a need to defend themselves at all apparently. They were like dogs who had been beat around by there owners a few too many times, they thought they deserved it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The day dragged on in a boring fashion. Reid couldn't wait to get to his dorm so he could actually get some well deserved rest. He blocked out the fact that the dorms would be filled with his newfound enemies.

Matt and the rest of the group seemed very involved in just about everything. When Reid was with them all they did was talk his ear off about "activities" and contributing to the school. Matt seemed like he was involved the most out of everyone. Reid figured that he was somewhat like the leader of their group. Even though they grew quite annoying after awhile it was better than being alone.

After the 9th period bell rang at about 3:30 in the afternoon people poured out of classrooms into various places. Reid remembered that it was only a Monday and he would have another whole week of the same thing until he could fully rest on the weekend. He wanted more than ever to go on his lap top and email someone to tell him the results of the day. Reid wanted to tell them that Kyle was their prime suspect.

It seemed a bit strange to be in a school where there were no girls whatsoever. He had learned that there was a campus for an all girls school a mile away from Gideon, but it was so different. He wasn't one to be missing any particular girl, but he laughed at the thought of Morgan being in his situation. In the middle of his walk to his dorm room it started to rain. It wasn't the normal type he had experienced for so long in Virginia, it was like an iced rain. Luckily the building was only a few yards away.

When he walked in he realized that hardly anyone else was there. They were all off doing something. That something was most likely sports, he thought. There was a lounge on the first floor for just hanging out. It contained a television, stereo, a few arcade machines, and many large leather sofas. The floor in there was carpeted in a thick sheepskin, which seemed like a stupid idea to put a light carpet in a place guys were to be.

Reid left the lounge and went to go find his dorm. Once again the hallways of the upper floors were made of polished wood. The founder of this place must've really liked it, he thought to himself. The number of his dorm was on his schedule. He looked at it and it read RM 214. At least he was on the second floor if he needed to make a quick escape.

When he arrived in front of the door he saw all his baggage outside of it. He hoped that someone had just left it there and that no one had purposely put it outside. The door was locked and he remembered that Mr. O'Brien had given him a key. The door opened and someone else was inside of it. Reid groaned in his head as he saw it was one of Kyle's friends, Anthony.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in an automatically fierce tone. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Uhm, I was assigned this dorm room." Reid said bringing one of his bags in. He realized the team must've put some extra things in there or it wouldn't be so heavy.

"Well there must be a mistake. I get my own room. And I definitely do not share with losers like you." He said standing up. Reid realized that he was trying to intimidate him. He was so sick of these people already.

"Well now you do." He said putting his bags on top of the extra bed. Anthony seemed like a territorial bear.

"Excuse me?! Now you're in for it." He said making a run at Reid. Reid was to fast for him and Anthony slammed his knee right into the bed post. "Shit!" he yelled in pain.

"You are so gonna regret this." He hissed as he limped out the door.

Reid got up and closed the door after he left. He knew that it probably wasn't the best choice to get his roommate mad at him, but he wasn't going to let him dominate. There was far too much of that going on in the school.

After unpacking all of his things he sat at a desk that was in the room. It already had a computer on it, but Reid knew to use his own. He had been happy to find a picture of everyone from the team with his things. It was nice to know that he still had people somewhere that cared about him.

On his laptop he accessed him email account. There was already a message from Morgan in his inbox. He clicked it and the email popped up. It said:

TO: SR

FROM: DM

Hey. How yah holding up there? We all miss you here. Send me any information that you have on the case so far. If you needed something checked out call Garcia.

Reid smiled at the email. He could just hear Morgan saying these words in his head. It was only day one and he was beginning to want to go back. Then he reminded himself he had something to prove.

His head was still throbbing. Reid felt bit nauseas and didn't feel like responding to the email right away. But he knew they were waiting for him.

TO: DM

FROM: SR

Things are alright I guess. I didn't get beat up yet. People here are all very violent. The people who play sports seem to dominate the entire school. They bully those who are weaker. A junior named Kyle Matthews is a possible suspect. He is obviously a narcissist and is capable of hurting others. Problem is the ones who were killed were his friends. I suspect some kind of hazing going on. The ones who were killed might have done something that the entire group saw as weak and they could have turned on them. That's all I have for now. They all hate me automatically and call me things. I guess I should have expected it, but it's really intense. I'm doing fine though and I hope that gives you some feedback.

He sent the email. Reid was afraid to fall asleep for he knew that his roommate would come back just as angry as he left. He sat at the desk for a couple of minutes thinking about everything he had said to Morgan and then out of exhaustion he passed out right there.


	9. Chapter 8 Open Wounds

A/C Hey everyone! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter. There are going to be skips in time just to get the pace going. It would be really hard to go day by day. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others

Day 7 Undercover

A few days passed with little occurrence. Each day Reid was forced to put up with a lot from his peers hardly getting any results with the case at all. The withdrawal he felt was growing worse. His headaches were becoming unbearable and he never wanted to eat in an almost anorexic state of being. As he carefully observed many of his classmates it was difficult to determine whether they were risks, or just basic high school bullies. It was harder than he thought it would be. He missed his friends at the BAU even though he and Morgan had been exchanging various emails. He also missed good coffee since the one at school was terrible.

It was once again a Monday at Opaque Academy. Last week Reid had sat through his classes bored out of his mind. There wasn't even anything he could listen to that would interest him. Sometimes he felt a need to correct the teacher when they slipped with their facts or equations. He was overall fed up with the way the staff taught and acted. Some of his teachers even seemed a bit drunk that day after the weekend. They continued to ignore the weaker part of the student population's need for assistance as the superior groups spat out hatred and took joy in beating them.

Reid had learned to keep his mouth shut around the jocks. They had nothing to say other than curses and insults so he just ignored that aspect and watched their behavior.

The team had checked out Kyle's records and it turned out he was charged for assault as a freshman. There was nothing that really shown on paper that he could be responsible. Reid's observations were the only thing the team had to work off of.

Living in the dorm Reid had learned to sleep with one eye open. Anthony had tried to attack on several occasions to try and seek revenge for the limp he now had as a result of slamming into the bedpost. Reid of course was much too quick for him and with his defensive training he could always slip away or fight back. The last time had resulted in Reid slamming Anthony in the stomach. He had basically given up trying to hurt Reid.

Reid was now sitting in studio art. It was definitely an easy class that he could observe social behavior in. He had the good fortune of having Kyle and his whole group in that class. They harassed him on a daily basis. He was sketching a house which was the assignment when they came over.

In art everyone sat at thick black tables that were made of some kind of hard material. Reid sat alone as he did a lot of time in his classes. No one wanted to sit with the new kid who was the stereotypical nerdy kid with glasses. They couldn't even see beyond that. Often Reid pictured their reactions after they found out they were messing with an FBI agent. It was quite a humorous thought actually. The teacher was out of the room as they approached.

"You think you're tough faggot?" Kyle said as he huffed over toward Reid. "Why the hell are you messing with him?" he asked nodding toward Anthony.

"It's called self-defense." Reid hissed as he continued to work on his sketch. At that moment Kyle leaned over and grabbed the paper crumbling it up.

"I thought I told you not to mess with us?" he said with piercing eyes. Reid had seen much worse expressions on the most psychotic serial killers in the world so he wasn't about to let this high school kid intimidate him.

"You did, doesn't mean I have to." Reid said with a dry laugh. He knew that he was probably being bold since the whole class was staring at them at this moment.

Kyle darted at him and grabbed the back of his head. Then he slammed Reid's face into the hard table. He could quickly and painfully feel his nose break. It was bleeding like crazy and his eyes were stinging with unwanted tears.

Most of the group started laughing at his obvious pain. A guy named Pat felt bad and Reid could see it on his face. He hoped he would say something or at least get them to stop being so brutal.

Kyle and Anthony grabbed Reid again and he fell helplessly on the floor. They both kicked him in the ribs. They didn't break but they were definitely bruised. He looked up at the rest of the group as they watched and they seemed to be enjoying it more and more.

"Wait! Guys, stop it that's enough." Pat said pulling Anthony back not daring to mess with their leader just yet.

"Oh so you're going to stick up for this pathetic freak?" Kyle asked with a cocky expression.

"It's not right." Pat said looking down at Reid and shaking his head in disgust at what his friends were doing to him.

"Whatever. This is getting boring anyway. Don't worry faggot we'll be back." Kyle laughed.

Reid got up holding his nose to prevent anymore of the blood from pouring out onto the white tiled floor of the classroom. Luckily this classroom didn't have wooden floors. He felt so alone more than ever. Screw class, he thought. He needed to talk to someone, and actually talk to them with his voice.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

He finally got back to his dorm room limping in pain. His whole body hurt and he desperately needed to call someone. Even though he didn't want them to think he couldn't handle the case he just wanted to hear their voices. The pain seemed to increase by the seconds. Reid leaned on the wooden desk for support, but his knees buckled in and he collapsed on the floor. He was conscious, yet terribly weak.

Reid reached for the cell phone in his bag that was on the floor along with him. Scrolling through his list of contacts he found Morgan's name amongst other various ones that he knew were codes for different things. Morgan was the one he needed to talk to.

Syracuse Police Department

Morgan was sitting at his desk examining some information on various suspects at the school. He was proud of Reid for holding out so well in his first undercover case. Every time he had spoken to him he sounded a bit lonely, but still clinging on. He of course couldn't mention the aspect of withdrawal since the team looked at all the emails also. But he had faith in his friend.

His cell started ring and he was a bit startled when he saw the name that popped up. Reid was only supposed to call when something was urgent or if he had a major lead in the case that couldn't be described in an email. Morgan knew very well that it was far too early for this kind of case to unravel even with a genius like Reid handling it, so he hoped nothing was wrong. Not wanting to tell the team he was calling just yet Morgan headed to the bathroom and he answered the phone.

"Hey. Reid?" Morgan asked as he heard coughing on the other line.

"M-Morgan…" he said in the middle of coughing. He then started spitting up a little bit of blood since he was bleeding heavily all around his face.

"Reid? What's the matter? What's wrong?" he said desperately wanting to know if his friend was alright. Morgan hoped it had nothing to do with drugs.

"I don't think I can do this…" he said in a distant voice that made him seem like he was on something.

"Reid, is it the drugs?" he asked in a serious tone even though he was feeling for his friend.

"No. It's just this place… Nothing seems to change. I'm older and these kids. They're freaking kids Morgan! They treat me like crap"

"Reid what can I tell you, its high school. I'm not trying to say it's easy, but you just have to hang in there. For the case." He said hoping Reid would understand. "Now what's wrong really? You sound like you just got punched in the jaw."

"Wow you must be psychic." Reid laughed weakly as he gathered himself up and sat on his bed. Anthony had thrown some of his things on it, but Reid pushed them onto the floor.

"What? They beat you up?" Morgan asked. He felt terrible. He thought back to his high school days where he was the one doing the bullying to kids just like Reid probably was. He knew that Reid couldn't exactly act like he was an FBI agent and fight back so the situation was tough.

"Yeah, look I'm sorry I bothered you. This withdrawal is just getting to my head and I was drowsy." Reid said finally coming to his senses sounding more like he usually did.

"No it's alright Reid, I'm here for you. I understand. But was it a sneak attack?" Morgan wondered aloud.

"They came up from behind after I said something sarcastically and banged my face into a table. It's amazing how much they get away with. But I'm gonna go, I should get to the nurse before I lose all my blood." He said laughing a bit with his last comment.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later." He said feeling unsure about Reid's sudden change in attitude about everything. Lately he seemed bipolar. But he remembered how much being undercover had altered him. As Gideon said, it would help Reid heal and get through some of the burdens he still carried.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Opaque Academy, Day 8

Reid woke up to the sound of his alarm ringing in an almost mocking tone. He missed his usually beeping one that almost sounded like a person ringing things up at a super market. His eyes felt heavy and his usual black circles underneath his eyes were growing more and more visible. He barely slept some nights due to nightmares or sometimes even Anthony's snoring and loud breathing. It was incredible how someone could be so obnoxious even in their sleep.

Making sure Anthony was still asleep he shut the alarm off and started to get dressed. He had always been uncomfortable changing in front of people and this situation was even worse than his usual feelings about it. If he had to share a room with Morgan or someone on a long distance case he could always change in the hotel bathroom, but at the school the nearest bathroom was near the lounge.

After getting into his uniform he made his way downstairs. A few people were already up. Luckily it was just Matt and Pete. They were sitting on the leather sofas still wearing the same clothes they had been wearing the day before.

"Hey, we heard what happened" Pete said in a concerned tone.

"It's no big deal…" Reid replied although he still was in much pain even after going to the school infirmary.

"Yeah, we've dealt with worse." Matt added. Their reaction seemed quite pathetic. _How could someone not do anything when not only their dignity but their safety was at risk_, Reid thought. At least he had gotten hurt sticking up for himself.

Just then one of the guys in Kyle's little group came in with an expression of shot and terror upon his face. Reid couldn't remember his name. Even though he didn't know him he knew it would have taken a lot to startle him.

"What's the matter?" Reid asked staring at the boy's shaking hands.

"Pat's dead…" he said and then he fainted onto the floor.


	10. Chapter 9 Confronting the Demons

A/C Hello everyone! Well I think I'll be updating more frequently seeing as I sprained my ankle and I can't walk. I feel like Gideon in the episode where he was on crutches

Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

Day 8 continued

Reid's eyes widened in surprise as the boy hit the floor. Luckily he hadn't hit his head directly onto the floor. He wasn't thinking about the kid just then, he was thinking about what he had just said. How could someone gotten killed under his own nose, Reid thought to himself. He knew the team wouldn't be please when they discovered this.

The name rang out through his head. Pat. Pat was the one who had spoken up for him the other day. _Could there have been a connection to that? _It didn't really fit together since Reid knew that the case didn't revolve around him. But it could revolve around people who actually spoke out against the bullying. He feared the body of Pat was close by.

"Did he just say someone's dead?" Pete asked in a panicked voice.

"Yes." Reid answered as he went over towards the boy on the floor. Instinctively he checked his pulse to make sure he didn't have that bad of an injury from falling on the hard wood. Matt watched him intently as he did.

"We better see if he was right about it though." Reid said trying not to sound too much like he dealt with many murders in his life.

"Why would he make something like that up?" Matt asked hastily almost in a worried voice but with a hint of defensiveness. Reid knew many people got like that when the subject of murder got brought about. It seemed normal.

"Come on Matt, he's right. Let's check outside." Pete said heading towards the door.

As they walked down the hall to the exit which leaded to the grounds the sun could be seem rising in the air illuminating the surrounding wilderness. Getting closer they saw the door was open a little with the automatic function that kept it open when pushed against the wall. A rancid smell wandered into the noses of Reid and his companions. They all reacted to it with coughing and gagging. Reid knew that scent all too well. It was the smell of rotting human flesh.

"Oh my god, what is that?" Pete said plugging his nose trying not to inhale the nauseating smell.

Finally they reached the grounds and the sight that was before them was utterly disturbing. Pat's mangled body laid dead center in the middle of the field. The sun's heat seemed to bake the skin causing the smell. His head had been thoroughly bashed in with some type of tool. Yet again the unsub seemed to be quite unorganized even though the scene had the makings of a ritual. He also had knife carvings all over his chest. They seemed to be filled with hatred and whoever had made them wanted to make Pat miserable.

"Should I go get someone?" Matt asked uncomfortably.

"Yes, go now." Reid said still looking at the body. He knew that he should call the team so they could get there as soon as possible.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Syracuse Police Department

The entire team was sitting at a conference table that had been set up for them. Stacks of papers covered it as far as the eye could see. Hotch now had dark circles under his eyes which could even defy Reid's.

Gideon, even though he didn't show it, was constantly worrying about Reid. At times he doubted himself for sending their youngest agent out there, but then he reminded himself of his own motives. Morgan had been on edge ever since his phone call with Reid. He debated with himself whether to tell the team about the drug use, but the thought of Reid not trusting him at all anymore turned him against it.

Prentiss just tried to focus on the case and even though she hoped the best for Reid she still felt angry towards him. When she thought of his words and lies she felt as though someone was stabbing her with an ice pick. JJ was far too busy with things to think about anything other than what her goal was. Sending a message out to the media was far easier than preventing one from being broadcasted.

Gideon's cell phone rang and everyone sat up a little straighter. They all feared the same thing, that it was Reid calling. Morgan had never told them about his conversation with Reid so they all inferred that for him to be calling it was something bad.

"Gideon." He said as he always did when answering the phone.

"Hey, it's Reid." Reid said sitting alone in his dorm making sure no one could hear him.

"What's wrong? You sound bothered." Gideon said nodding at the team assuring them that it was in fact Reid.

"Another boy was killed last night." Reid said weakly. He felt so embarrassed that it had happened only a few yards away from where he slept.

"What? Don't worry just stay in character and we'll be there shortly." Gideon said in a fatherly tone. He knew that Reid was probably feeling guilty and he wasn't going to make him feel any worse.

"Someone else was killed." Gideon said putting his coat on.

"What?" they all asked simultaneously.

"I thought they were supposed to raise the security level there?" Prentiss asked as she got up also. The rest of the team began to gather their things along with her.

"They were." Gideon said. "We have to get over there and look at the crime scene. It's time for some hands on work."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Opaque Academy 

As Pete began to inform the staff of what had happened many students had gathered by the site. The local PD was called and they put out their usual crime scene tape and some CSI were called in. Gideon and the rest of the team would be arriving soon. Not wanting to cause uproar Mr. O'Brien had classes running as if nothing had happened. Reid found it sickening that the thoughts on the staff's and administrator's minds were only of the reputation of the school, and not the life that had been taken away from a student.

Reid was sitting in AP Literature when the team came. The classroom overlooked the grounds so he got a glimpse of them, but soon the teacher decided to close the blinds since most of the class was gazing out the window.

The teacher's name was Ms. Hicks and she was fairly old and had an abundance of wrinkles all around her sagging face. She had a voice that droned on and almost everyone fell in her class. But today was different, everyone was talking about the murder. Soon she just gave up and let the talking continue.

For Reid this was an opportune moment to observe his classmates reactions to the killings. The killer would most likely want to talk about it a lot and feel a great pride as he did. They would discharge any rumors of false suspects and get offended by the guesses not wanting others getting credit for their skilled work.

The usual group of jocks was deep in conversation. Reid figured it was their way of mourning, but could it be something else, he wondered to himself. Kyle was rubbing the temples of his forehead. Reid knew he was friends with Pat, but maybe the incident in art had caused a falling out between them. Maybe the usual ways of hazing didn't satisfy Kyle. Maybe he needed more. Reid couldn't help but want the unsub to be Kyle. He had put him through many hellish days, and Reid wanted nothing more than to see him locked away. But the profile didn't seem to fit.

"Hey freak, is it true you found the body?" Anthony asked turning around to talk to Reid which was a rare occurrence.

"Uhm, yea." Reid said not making eye contact as he continued reading a novel he had brought to class. It was from the school library. Morgan had told him that books had been his best friend when he was bored undercover. Even though he had read and memorized almost every book on the high school reading level it was still a good way to pass time where he wasn't observing.

"Did you see who did it?" another one of them asked him thickly.

"Sure, I just decided not to tell anyone." Reid said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. He knew they couldn't get away with hitting him in front of a teacher so it was safe. The teachers had to do something if it happened right in their classrooms.

The two of them scowled at him and they turned around and continued their conversations with other people. Reid was glad by this. He despised any contact with them whatsoever.

All of a sudden the door of the classroom opened. Mr. O'Brien was standing there obviously trying to look official in his best suit. Reid wondered what he could possibly want since he was so keen on running things as usual even in the midst of a killing spree occurring right beneath his nose.

"I need to excuse Kyle from class please." He said giving Kyle a sharp stare. Reid hoped that they might have found some evidence connecting him to the case.

Kyle headed towards the door and Mr. O'Brien opened it up a little wider so he could exit. As he did this Reid saw a familiar face in the hallway. Prentiss and Morgan were standing outside. Reid felt a lump in his throat and he grew nervous. '_What could they be here to do? Are they pulling me off the case?' _he thought feeling quite anxious.

"Oh yes, and also James" Mr. O'Brien added as he popped his head back in.Reid froze in thought at that point.

Trying not to show how he was truly feeling Reid got up and headed towards the door. He could feel his classmate's eyes upon him probably thinking he had something to do with the crime. Kyle seemed to be acting very nonchalant about the whole thing.

When he finally got to the hallway he tried not to look at his friends. It was very difficult for him. Reid just wanted to talk to them as the person he really was. He knew the only logical reason for them wanting to speak to him was about the case. Seeing Prentiss he hoped she wouldn't be there.

"You'll be with me." Morgan told him in his official FBI tone and it humored Reid a bit knowing that it was just an act. He then led Reid to a small conference room that seemed to be for administrative meeting they sometimes had in the school.

When they were inside he pulled down a cover that hid the window on the door. Reid was happy to find Gideon and JJ sitting there. He figured Hotch and Prentiss had gone to talk to Kyle since he was the prime suspect.

JJ immediately rose and embraced him. He hadn't realized the injuries on his face was that bad, but she was just happy to see him. Reid smiled which hadn't happened in awhile. He was so happy to see his friends even if it was only for a short while.

"How are you?" she asked as she stopped hugging him.

"I'm alright." He lied. Reid didn't have the heart to tell them everything he told Morgan. "Well you know its high school."

"Have a seat." Gideon said smiling also to see Reid again.

"I see you're questioning Kyle." Reid said sitting down in one of the chairs that surrounded the table.

"Well he's our only suspect from what you've told us." Morgan said also taking a seat.

"So, why did you call me in here? I mean it's great to see all of you, but is this really procedure?" Reid said feeling a bit paranoid again. He cursed himself inside for ever taking the drugs. The withdrawal never seemed to stop.

"Well, we just wanted to know how everything is going." JJ said with a sincere look upon her face.

"By that you mean me don't you? I just knew you guys would do this… You don't think I can handle it!" he said quite loudly.

"Reid, calm down. I've told you many times it's not like that…" Gideon said trying to calm Reid down before he messed the whole operation up by allowing someone to hear him out of character.

"You told them didn't you?" Reid said standing up and glaring at Morgan.

"Reid, no I didn't." he said quite confused with Reid's sudden paranoia.

"You know what, it was better when I hardly had any contact with all of you so just leave me be and let me do my job!" said Reid.

Gideon didn't know what to do. It was too far in to pull Reid out now. His only option was to calm him down and just let him keep doing what he was doing. It was a mistake to talk to him.

"Alright, I'm sorry. We all are. We didn't mean to make it seem like you can't do your job. You're doing great so just keep it up." Gideon said calmly.

"Fine, can I go?" Reid asked hastily. Gideon nodded. The door slammed as he left.

"Great." Morgan commented. "He's probably going to have a breakdown or something."

"I don't think so." Gideon answered. "People have different ways of handling things…"

"Morgan, what was Reid talking about before?" JJ asked.

At that point they all sat down once again and Morgan told them everything. Reid had chose to bring it up and now Morgan had no choice but to tell them.


	11. Chapter 11 Turning of the Tides

A/C: Hello all once again. Not sure how many chapters there are going to be, but I'll be wrapping it up in the next few. Enjoy this next one .

Day 13

After Reid had left the room that day he once again skipped his classes that day. He knew it wasn't the right thing to do, but his paranoia was uncontrollable. He hated feeling the way he did, and he needed it to stop. Reid knew that it probably wasn't only withdrawal, it was guilt. After the mission ended he knew he'd have to confess about the drugs. Confess. That word had haunted him all too much lately. In his room he thought about it. Maybe what had happened with Tobias had happened for a reason…

A few more days passed and he often viewed the team interviewing students or just examining the crime scene again and again. He wished for them to leave. With them being there it just made things harder. Reid wasn't about to give up his cover, but it was definitely hard not making eye contact with people who were friends, if he could even call them that anymore.

He had to try and concentrate on the case and not on himself as much. Reid knew very well that was bringing him down. Once again the weekend rolled around. Even though he would have rather stayed in his dorm room all day thinking about everything that had happened Reid had to use the weekend to his advantage. Luckily he didn't have to wait long for a chance to observe once more. As he was making his way to breakfast on Saturday Mr. O'Brien approached him.

"Hey, how yah doing" he asked him giving Reid a little punch in the shoulder. Reid did not remember his high school principal being so odd.

"Umm, fine I guess." Reid answered trying quickly end the conversation so he could get to his table. Before he could get away Mr. O'Brien followed him.

"Great. So what happened with you joining track?" he asked him persistently.

"Well with everything that's happened I thought I should be concentrating on more important things." Reid said hoping he'd get the message.

"I can assure you things are getting taken care of so it would be in your best interest to go to practice later." He said. Reid couldn't believe how ignorant someone could be.

"What do you mean taken care of? I boy got murdered and you act like things are perfectly normal!" Reid responded slightly shouting at that point so that many could hear him.

Mr. O'Brien got quite serious at that point. He did not like being reprimanded by anyone, especially if they were someone that was supposed to be a student.

"James. This conversation is over." Mr. O'Brien said trying to calm down even since he was quite angry. Mr. O'Brien hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but the team had told him Reid should do the activities that were connected to the victims. It was hard enough on him when people thought he wasn't doing enough to protect his students so he just wanted to make sure he followed orders.

When he walked away Reid glared at him. He could see why Pete said he disliked him. Thinking about it once more he realized the pressure he was under. Reid could somewhat sympathize with him, but his behavior still seemed odd. After thinking things over for a moment he headed towards the table.

The group greeted him with the usual hellos. They had all seemed on edge after the death of Pat. Everyone in the school seemed that way. Reid knew he should be thinking about the case more, but he couldn't get what had happened in the conference room with the team out of his mind.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit odd lately…" Matt said with a concerned look upon his face. Reid knew his intentions were well, but he was just sick and tired of people asking him that question.

Reid just answered with a nod of his head. Looking at Matt he noticed he looked terribly tired. He hadn't gotten that much sleep himself. Just thinking about his actions toward the team made him squirm and that was all he did the previous night.

"Did they do something to you again?" asked Pete. Reid wished they would just stay out of his business. It was so much easier just to be alone.

"No, they didn't. I have to go." Reid said as he got up and left. The remaining group exchanged serious looks.

Reid wasn't exactly sure where he was going to go. He had just wanted to get away from them. Now he could see why the others disliked people like them. He wasn't even like that. They were so clingy and showed their weaknesses openly. Reid knew he had to stop thinking so negatively. _They're just trying to help you_, he thought to himself. Lately his mind seemed to be in a place of its own.

Before he knew it, it was time to head to the track. He had been dreading going for awhile. Reid was a pretty good runner, but he always felt self-conscious when doing it. He was thin compared to others, but when running in sweats he almost looked skeletal.

Not one person was on the track when he got there so he headed to the locker room. Reid wasn't even sure who was on the track team, but since football had ended there was bound to be many of them in it just to get in shape. As he went into the room he saw that Mr. Lombardi was in there. Reid had always thought he was the coach of something by his appearance, but he hadn't known it was track. Along with him were Kyle and his group of friends. _Perfect_, he thought.

When they saw him they all gave him devious looks. The coach didn't seem surprised to see him since Mr. O'Brien had probably told him that Reid would be there. Feeling everyone's eyes upon his he wished he had just ditched again. Anything would be better than being where he was at that moment.

"Looks like Shepard decided to show for once." Mr. Lombardi said looking Reid over with his eyes. They resembled the eyes of a hawk. "Boys you can go out on the field."

As they left they all nudged Reid with their shoulders. He knew the worst was yet to come. Reid tried to make eye contact with the coach. He hadn't really thought of a staff member being part of the killings. They would have access to many parts of the school others wouldn't even be aware of. As he had thought before it could all be part of hazing and that would involve the coach. He made to mental note to observe the actions of Mr. Lombardi since he was a potential suspect.

"So, you run boy?" he asked looking over Reid carefully.

"Yeah, I do." Reid answered looking him straight in the eyes. His eyes were so cold.

"Sprinter or cross-country?" the coach asked him. Reid hated people who asked so many questions and that seemed to be what everyone did at the school. He knew it was kind of a hypocritical thought since his career was about asking questions.

"Either." Reid said again. He wished he could just get the running over with and stop with this interrogation.

"Alright, well start off today with four miles." Mr. Lombardi said. "There's a uniform for you over there on the bench." Then he left to go join the boys outside.

After getting dressed and putting his other clothes Reid stepped out onto the track. The air was moist and filled with an eerie mist. Even though it was spring it still seemed so cold. Reid knew he'd probably feel numb after four miles.

He started running at a steady pace and he was glad that no pain was erupting out of his sides. Reid hadn't worked out in so long, but just his job kept him in shape somewhat. Soon he saw Kyle also running on the track. He pushed into him when he ran by. Whenever anyone passed him they mouthed a curse at him.

Finally the long run was over. The coach said he was good and that he would be able to join the team. Reid dreaded more days like this with the other members of the team. _They could lighten up, you never know,_ he thought to himself trying to be positive.

Reid tried to get back to the locker room before anyone else so that he could change quickly and get out of there. When he got back into his uniform the rest of them started coming in. As he headed for the door Reid felt someone grip his thin arm tightly and fiercely.

"Not so fast faggot." Kyle said with a devious smile upon his face once again.

"Let go of me." Reid said trying to squirm out of his grip. It was so tight and full of pure anger.

"I don't think so." He growled as he punched Reid square in the jaw. The punch hadn't broken anything, but it definitely hurt. The rest of the team began kicking him also. There were too many of them to fight back. As well trained as he was he couldn't take all of them at once.

They dragged him towards the shower areas where the steam was warm and thick from the hot showers. Anthony threw him into one with his clothes on. The water was purposely turned on to scorching hot. Reid screamed out in pain as the hot water sprayed onto his skin. Some of the other boys began kicking him again. Then he felt himself being pushed against the wall. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as his face slammed into the tiled wall.

"I told you not to mess with us Shepard. This is what you get." Kyle said with an evil gleam in his eyes.

"Is this what you did the rest of them before you killed them?" Reid asked weakly still pinned up against the wall.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Anthony asked letting him fall to the floor.

"You didn't kill them?" Reid asked looking around at all their surprised faces.

"They were our friends." Kyle responded shocked at Reid's thoughts. "Besides we don't kill, we just haze."

"But you were fighting with Pat right before he was killed… because he stuck up for me."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't kill him over it. You're crazy. Let's go guys." Kyle said looking quite paranoid at Reid.

He thought things over again. It was supposed to be Kyle. Kyle had the motive to kill Pat. Even though he wasn't sure why he would've killed the others, Reid wanted Kyle to be the one. For awhile he just sat in a puddle of water before he limped out of the locker room. Thinking about everything Kyle didn't fit the profile. So he had no suspects left and the team would think he was a failure. Reid felt a need for the drugs once more.

Reid knew he had to inform Mr. O'Brien about what had happened. Even if Kyle and his friends were not responsible for the murders hazing was illegal and they had to be punished. Making his way to the office where he had first arrived many days ago he noticed there was someone talking to Mr. O'Brien in his office already. He still had to get there regardless of who he was talking to.

"Mr. O'Brien?" he asked as he walked in. Reid could still taste the blood in his mouth. Running his tongue over his lip he realized it had been cut open. His body hurt all over and he was dripping of water still.

"Oh my god what happened?" he asked getting up out of his chair. Reid saw Matt was sitting in the chair across from him and when he saw Reid Matt got up and helped him into the seat.

"The track team is responsible for hazing, but they aren't the ones killing them." Reid said not caring that Matt was there.

"I see…" Mr. O'Brien said.

"Here have a drink of water you look like your dying." Matt said with concern in his eyes as usual.

"Thank you." Reid said taking a sip from the bottle Matt had handed him. "But I need to talk to you alone please." He said making sure he knew what he was talking about.

"Don't worry Spencer, Matt knows already…" Mr. O'Brien said quite casually. Reid's insides felt like they had frozen when he heard what he said.

"What do you mean he knows?" Reid asked slowly getting up from the chair. Something just wasn't right.

"Matt can be trusted, unlike you. We thought you were different from the rest of your friends at the FBI."

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone Mr. O'Brien…" Reid said hesitantly.

"It doesn't matter now. You proved to be just as bad as all the others. You think you're better than everyone just because you're in the FBI."

"It's the same thing as they were with their sports." Matt added. "I know you look down upon me and everyone else. You even think you're better than Mr.O'Brien."

"No, that's not true. I'm just here to help you all, to help your school." Reid said nervously.

Then it suddenly hit him. The profile fit perfectly. The boys weren't being killed because they were weaker. They were being killed because they were stronger. All along he had been sitting with Matt and his friends not even realizing they were responsible. Mr. O'Brien was influencing them to kill.

"It doesn't need help." Mr. O'Brien said in a cold eerie tone.

"Did you kill those boys, Mr. O'Brien?" Reid asked fearfully.

"No, I only taught Matt and the others to stick up for themselves to people like you who think they're better."

"By killing them?" Reid asked.

"It was the only way." Matt said almost as though he was under a spell. Reid knew he had to get out of there.

Before he could he started feeling dizzy. Reid could feel his head start to throb and the room was spinning slightly. He turned back around to look at Matt and Mr. O'Brien.

"What did you put in the water?" he asked grabbing onto the chair for support.

"Don't worry. It will all be over soon Dr. Reid."

Then Reid collapsed onto the hard wooden floor. Once again he was in darkness.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12 Hope Fails

A/C Wow sorry guys it has been awhile since I've updated. Well here is another chapter. Keep reviewing, it's my muse.

Reid opened his eyes slowly. They felt swollen. It was pitch black in the room where he laid. A familiar fear came about him then. He still felt dizzy and nauseas for the water he had drank which was spiked with a tranquilizer. Everything came back to him. Reid painfully remembered he was at the hands of a psychopath yet again. But this time there was no one who knew where he was with or what had happened. 'How could I let this happen again?' He asked himself.

All of the sudden he heard footsteps in the room. Reid realized that soon he would experience the same fate as the others before him. From experience he knew he would not be able to talk O'Brien or any of the others out of it. For once he felt the ability to think clearly without the fog of withdrawal. 'Not that it matters.'

"H-hello?" Reid asked with his voice cracking from being unconscious for so long.

A bright light suddenly blinded him. Reid knew it was obviously one of them. The numbness in his body from the drug was wearing off and Reid could feel a cold and metal surface beneath his body. When the light faded just enough for him to see he saw he was on a surgical table. He attempted to sit up, but he couldn't due to restraints that were built into the table.

Reid was well aware that he was in a deathly situation, but he wasn't going to give up or give in no matter what. He was going to give a good fight and not give his captors what they desired, power.

"Hello, Dr. Reid. How are you?" said a taunting voice. Reid didn't even need to look at him to know it was Matt. He appeared to be trying to act strong and dominant, but Reid still heard the words of a frightened young man.

"Oh, just peachy." Reid said with fierce sarcasm. Reid knew of the endless number of things Matt could do to him in his position, but it didn't matter in his state of mind. All that mattered was not to give Matt the satisfaction he wanted.

"You _are _just like the rest of them. O'Brien didn't believe me at first, but I just knew it." Reid felt a prickle of fear as he noticed Matt sounded quite unstable, but he didn't show it.

"Did you plan this from the beginning?" Reid asked attempting to stay calm. 'Don't give into it.'

"I told you before… I thought you were different, like us. Maybe you could've even helped us. But then you just ignored us like we were nothing. You, the big FBI man thinking you're too good for people even undercover as a student!" Matt yelled his last words and kicked the wall.

"I never would help someone with the things you've done. And I'll tell you this now, you won't get away with this."

"Hmm… I really don't think you're in the position to say that Dr. Reid." After he spoke the room became black once more and the door slammed and echoed.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Day 14 Undercover, Syracuse PD

Morgan lay with his head in his arms. The team had been working another hard night trying to find some leads on the case from the little information they had gotten on their visit to the school. Everyone knew they were missing some factor that always helped them to solve the case, Reid.

"Coffee?" Prentiss asked tapping him gently on the shoulder.

"Wha…?" Morgan said as though he was half asleep. After he shook himself awake he responded, "Yeah sure that's all we live on now anyway."

"Gideon and everyone else went back to talk to the Principal since we couldn't see him the other day." She said as she sat down on a chair beside her friend.

"And what are we supposed to do here?" Morgan hissed.

"I guess we should check up with Reid or something."

Morgan looked away as she said his name. If anyone brought Reid up he automatically felt a feeling of guilt rise in his stomach almost instantly.

"Right." He responded as he started to open the laptop upon the table.

Morgan had written Reid an e-mail the previous night so he went to his inbox to check for a response. There was nothing there. He considered the fact that Reid might still have been worked up over their visit, but he knew that would not have stood in the way of his task. Something was wrong and he knew it.

"He never responded. Prentiss call Gideon and tell him to keep an eye open for Reid at the school and that we're on our way there." Morgan knew he probably sounded quite paranoid, but he just felt an instinct within that told him he needed to act fast.

"But maybe he was just tired or something." She suggested hopefully. As much as Reid had ticked her off the last few weeks he was still part of their BAU family.

"I know him Emily. He would never blow us off, never."

"Alright… let's go."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

In his captivity Reid spent most of his time sleeping. As weird as it sounds it was the best sleep he had experienced in a long time. Sure he was cold and hungry, but he felt pretty calm and most definitely sober. One of the things that bothered him the most was the fact that he didn't know what time it was or how many days had passed. He estimated that it had been about 12 hours since Matt's visit though.

A patter of footsteps awoke him in his sleep. He hoped it wasn't Matt since he hadn't sounded that calm the last time they had spoken. 'If it's O'Brien I'll kill that bastard.'

The light turned on slowly at a dim which was refreshing to his eyes. Emerging from the shadows he saw Pete standing there with a scared expression. 'If I can anyone to help me it'll be him'

"Pete… you're apart of this?" Reid asked him even though he already knew the answer since Pete was Matt's best friend.

"I'm sorry James…I mean Dr. Reid." He said with genuine sympathy. Reid knew he was probably just a victim of his friend's and teacher's insanity.

"Pete I know you don't want to be part of this. The first day I came you were fighting with O'Brien. You're a good person." Reid said hastily. For the first time he felt anxious and a bit scared realizing death was probably near.

"No… I'm not." Pete answered not making eye contact.

"But you haven't killed anyone yet, have you?" he asked.

"No, you're supposed to be my first." His words pricked Reid with fear. He could feel his hands shaking a bit, but he clenched them into fists to stop it.

"Please… you can save us both." Reid said feeling a sense of déjà vu. Not long ago it seemed he had been trying to convince Tobias to do the same thing. 'Funny how things seem to repeat themselves'

Pete took out a bottle of water he had with him. "I'm supposed to give you water." Reid just nodded and opened his mouth while Pete poured a little at a time into his dry mouth.

"Thanks." Reid said after swallowing.

"I have to go now…" he said with no emotion. Reid could tell he wanted to help him, but he was just too intimidated by Matt and O'Brien.

"Please, don't leave me here." Reid begged him. He didn't know if he could stand the darkness anymore, even in sleep.

"I'm sorry Dr. Reid." Then just as Matt had done before he shut off the light and left Reid alone.

Reid could not hold it in any longer. The last weeks had been pure torture and he felt more alone than ever. There was no one looking for him. There wasn't even anyone who cared anymore. He started sobbing alone in the dark.


	13. Chapter 13 Confession

A/C Once again, thanks for all the support. I'm only going to have a few more chapters, but I will definitely keep writing or even write a sequel. Tell me what you think about it. Keep reviewing also

Gideon stood in the moist lawn of the school. Once again he had gone to Mr. O'Brien's office to discuss matters of the operation. Also by being there he hoped to view anything or anyone that might look suspicious. But once again the principal was not there. The air was chilly, but he was very much used to any type of weather because of all his traveling. All he could think about was what Morgan had told them the other day. He had suspected something was wrong with Reid, but never would have he guessed drugs. It hurt him that Reid hadn't come to him since he always considered himself like a fatherly figure.

Hotch was standing close to him, but he had a different thought on his mind. Haley had called him on his cell phone a few hours ago and she wasn't happy with him. He sensed that there was something wrong the moment she began to speak. The operation wasn't meant to last the time it was and Haley was very angry with him. Hotch had given her the usual talk about how they needed him and that he would be home if he could, but she told him that when he got home they needed to discuss their relationship. Her words had pierced his heart and he feared for their marriage even though he knew that the team and Reid needed his full focus on the job.

Gideon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. As he took it out he saw on the screen that Prentiss was calling from the station. He desperately hoped that she was bringing news of their youngest agent.

"Gideon." he said answering the call.

"It's Prentiss. Uh, Morgan wants to let you know we're coming to the school now." She said. By the sound of her voice she seemed worried.

"Why? Is something wrong?" He asked sensing her anxiety.

"Well, Reid hasn't responded in e-mail or anything in two days." Prentiss responded.

"Alright, Hotch and I'll take a look around and check if he's around. If not we have a problem."

"Did you get in contact with the principal?"

"No." Gideon said. A thought struck his mind at that moment. It seemed too much of a coincidence that they couldn't find Reid or O'Brien. "Get here as soon as possible." He hung up the phone.

"Hotch, we might have a situation here."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

As Reid lay trapped in an uncomfortable state time seemed to drag on. Every minute seemed like an hour and every hour felt like a day. He felt quite cold and Reid wished that someone would come once more just to give him the assurance he wasn't left there to die. Many times he had tried to get himself loose from the restraints, but there were strong. When Pete had visited last and the lights had been on, Reid had noticed what else was in the room. There were many cabinets with drawers and a few cardboard boxes stacked up against the door. He inferred that they were in some kind of medical station. 'But where?', he thought.

The only thing Reid had been given the last few days was water on a few occasions so he was sick with hunger. Any sound at all made him jump in the hope that someone was there to give him some nourishment, or in the best case scenario, rescue him. After speaking with Pete it seemed impossible to convince him to help, he was just too brainwashed with all the sadistic things O'Brien had fed to him. Reid felt as though his fate was already settled and he was losing hope.

He started to hear the familiar steps of someone coming towards the room. Since his eyes were well settled in the blackness the sudden light made him wince. This time it was O'Brien accompanied by both of the boys. They didn't seem interested in him at the moment. The three of them looked very bothered about something.

"Did they question you?" O'Brien shot at the boys who were sitting down in the few chairs that lay in the small room.

"No, I think they suspected Kyle and the rest of them." Matt said with a happy smile. When Reid saw his reaction, he felt even worse. 'How could I not have suspected any of them?'

"They're looking to question me…" O'Brien admitted seeming a little paranoid. Reid knew that if he was under pressure it would only result in killing him faster. "Have you been communicating with your friends?" he said directing the question at Reid.

Reid hesitated not knowing whether to just tell him or to keep the one secret he had left. There was a feeling of anger forming in the principal's dark eyes as Reid didn't respond. Matt and Pete looked at each other knowing that their leader would not deal with being ignored that well.

"I didn't hear your answer son." He said psychotically clenching his large fists. Reid was scared, but he continued to ignore O'Brien as a way to preserve the dignity he had left.

Suddenly he moved close to him and placed his hands around Reid's throat. He tried to fight for air as O'Brien strangled him shouting, "Answer me!" Finally he said as loud as he could, "I will."

When he let go Reid gasped for air and coughed. "I haven't talked to them in days… the last time I did I told them that they should keep an eye on Kyle. But that's it, they have no reason to suspect you," he said quietly.

A menacing smile was expressed upon O'Brien's aging face. "Good," he said as a response.

"Peter, Matt and I will go back to the school so we don't look suspicious, but I'll trust you to do what needs to be done. Take your time if you have to, they'll never find him." After O'Brien spoke he and Matt exited the room to head back to the school.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Prentiss and Morgan pulled up in one of their black SUVs. JJ was in the backseat getting in touch with Garcia. After telling Morgan how Gideon reacted, they had tried to get to the school as quickly as they could. Morgan was looking at the situation in the worst way possible, but soon he and the rest of the team would discover that it was the truth.

"Morgan you were driving like a maniac out there, calm down." Prentiss said calmly to him. She knew that he was scared for his friend, but he was being more aggressive than usual.

"He trusted us to make sure nothing would happen to him. What if he's hurt huh?" he asked her slamming the car door as he followed her and JJ towards the school. They could see Gideon and Hotch waiting in the lobby.

"Garcia says she's been calling Reid's phone constantly, but he hasn't picked up." JJ said closing her phone.

"We can't be sure about what happened until we have more information." Prentiss responded directing her statement to Morgan. He didn't respond and they all went into the administration building.

"Did you see him?" Morgan asked Gideon and Hotch as he saw them standing in the waiting area. They both exchanged glances seeing the state that Morgan seemed to be in.

"No, we think something might have happened. Reid and the principal are both gone." Hotch said solemnly.

"You think something's happened to both of them together?" JJ asked anxiously.

"More like we think Mr. O'Brien might have something to do with the disappearances." Gideon answered. He blamed himself for putting Reid into danger and knew that if something happened to him he could never forgive himself.

"Well you can ask him… he's standing right over there." Prentiss said pointing to the principal walking into the building heading for his office. When he saw all of them his eyes widened, but knowing that the agents were probably aware what was going on he just stood there and smiled.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Pete sat in one of the chairs nearest to Reid. His legs were crossed and he was massaging his temples. The pressure was unbearable for him. His parents abandoned him to foster care when he was very young. When he was eight a nice family adopted him who also had a son. Matt was their son. They were very wealthy and were quite preoccupied with their careers, but taking in Pete was a good deed they felt would be good for Matt. But no good deed goes unpunished. Matt was practically the only person Pete had, and he needed to prove himself even though he knew killing people was insane.

"Aren't you gonna kill me Pete?" Reid asked in a frustrated manner. The only thought in his mind was that no one would come for him. This was the final thing to put him over the edge. "Why don't you just get it over with, huh?" he screamed.

Pete looked as though he was going to break down. Reid struggled trying to break free of the restraints, but they wouldn't give. The whole time he squirmed around he was screaming, "Come on!"

"Please, just stop…" Pete sobbed threw tears.

"Fine I'll stop, but I have just one question that's been bothering me. Why'd you kill Patrick? He didn't hurt you or offend you! He was just trying to help!"

"I didn't kill anyone…" Pete said still sobbing.

"You might as well have since you didn't do anything about it!" Reid yelled. He was so sick of people thinking they could always hold power over him. This time he wasn't going to let it happen.

"THEY killed him! They killed him because of you… because he tried to help you."

A cell phone on the counter in the room started to ring. Pete's eyes widened knowing that something had to be wrong for it to ring. He walked over to it slowly and picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked

"Pete, it's me Matt. Look, you need to do it now… they've taken O'Brien to the station," he said in a worried tone.

"What?" Pete asked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"They know man… they know we got one of their guys. And O'Brien's lost it I think, he's gonna confess. I think he even wants to."

"Matt, I don't think I can do this…"

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course you can do this."

"Goodbye." He said. Pete took his ear away from the phone and he could hear Matt screaming, but he hung up.

"You're going to help me?" Reid asked not able to believe what he was hearing.

Pete nodded and said, "Let's get you out of here."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Syracuse Police Department

The interrogation room in the Syracuse police department was nothing special. It was a simple one, without the luxury of a one way window where the whole team could watch. Morgan wanted to make sure he could be there to make hell for the bastard who had his friend. The situation was no easier than the one in Georgia just months before. They had no idea whether Reid could survive after all the trauma he had been threw. It was decided that Hotch and Morgan would do the interrogation while the others stayed back at the school to find out as much as they could.

Before they went in Hotch stopped Morgan to talk. "Don't do anything you'd regret," he said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Just keep Reid out of your mind." Morgan nodded with understanding.

Walking into the room O'Brien looked up at them and smiled as he did previously. Morgan took a breath to control his anger. Hotch decided to start.

"How long have you been a principal at Opaque?" he asked in a grim tone of voice.

"Hmm, I'd say about ten years or so," responded O'Brien as though he was having a downright normal conversation.

"Then you know about interrogations and giving punishments."

O'Brien chuckled to himself nodding his head. "Yes that's very true."

"When we confronted you earlier today you smiled at us, does that mean you're ready to confess." Morgan asked leaning down onto the table.

"I wouldn't call it a confession. It's more as though I'm graciously sharing my knowledge with you."

"Don't play games with us, where's Reid?" Morgan questioned him slamming his fist into the table.

"Now I thought you wanted to hear the whole story…"

"We do," Hotch said giving Morgan a stern look that told him to back away. "Tell us what you've done."

"I really don't know what you all consider a hard job agent, but being a principal is more than just running a school. It's my job to shape the youth that will take over this world we rule today. I watch these kids day after day and they disappoint me often. It's hard with boys especially. Beating each other up and harassing one another is something that doesn't seem to get old…"

"What? Was the job too tough for yah?" Morgan asked interrupting him.

"May I continue agent?" he asked looking at Hotch with a sarcastic smile.

"Go ahead…"

"No one ever helps kids with those types of problems. Teachers walk by without taking more than a glance at the tormented youth around them. I actually did something about it."

"So you killed them? You killed the bullies?" Hotch asked becoming angry at the unsub.

"No, I didn't them because they were _bullies_, I killed them because they were a bunch of bastards who thought they were superior to everyone and everything. They strutted around my school with their heads held high thinking they were better than everyone just because they could catch a ball. They had no clue that the ones who they tormented might just do something about it one day…" he said smiling with his last words.

"You weren't alone?" Morgan asked trying to remain the calmest voice he could.

"I certainly was not. I started a rebellion. Some of my students have brilliant minds and they were taunted for that, but I have taught them to use them in the right ways. Just ask Matthew and Peter Logan." Morgan made a mental note of the names.

"Then why did you take our agent?" Hotch asked angrily.

"He was exactly the same. Maybe not a jock, but he was one of you."

"Where is he?" questioned Hotch.

"I'd like to speak to my lawyer."


	14. Chapter 14 Not Alone

A/C Once again thanks for your reviews. They always leave me smiling after I read them. Hope your enjoying it .

Reid's muscles ached horribly as he sat up on the table. As he did this a sudden dizzy spell overcame him for a moment or so. Pete helped him off with much concern and guilt. As Reid reached the ground he couldn't even stand. Before he fell Pete grabbed him and placed Reid's arm around the back of his neck for a type of support. Knowing that they wouldn't get very far in Reid's condition he set him down in one of the wooden chairs.

"I'll be right back, there's a wheel chair in the hallway." He said calmly. Pete hadn't wanted to get Reid into an even worse state by telling him Matt was probably on his way to carry out what Pete was meant to do, so he kept that to himself.

When he entered the room again he was wheeling in quite an antique. The wheel chair itself looked as though it was fifty years old. It made Reid even more curious to where he was even in his famished state.

"Where are we?" he asked weakly. Reid wasn't sure how long he could remain conscious.

"It's an old medical station they kept out in the woods during the 50's. It seconds as a bomb shelter." Pete said as he helped Reid into the chair. It creaked a lot, however Pete was quite sure it would hold due to Reid's skinny body.

Hearing this information normally would have fascinated him, but Reid just nodded wearily. Pete began to wheel him out of the room that Reid was held captive in. The hallway had a cement floor which was uneven and made the chair bump as it rolled over. Other rooms they passed seemed to be just for storage. At the end of the hall was an old fashioned coat rack. It had three school blazers hanging on it. Seeing this made Reid squirm a bit knowing they most likely belonged to the victims. A wooden staircase was also at the end.

"We have to get you up the stairs." Pete said helping Reid out of the chair. The floor was cold in his bare feet. Before feeling the cold he had completely forgotten they must've taken his shoes on the off chance that he would escape.

He helped him up the stairs in the same position Pete had assisted him in before. Soon enough they reached the top and they were out in the middle of the forest from what Reid could tell.

"How far is it back to the school?" Reid asked looking around despairingly. Knowing that it would be downright impossible for him to be wheeled through the woods he hoped the distance wouldn't be too far. It would be quite agonizing to go a long ways in bare feet.

"I'd say about a good ten miles or so…" Pete said looking around trying to remember which direction they had to go in. "We have to try and hurry though."

"Any particular reason?" Reid asked him harshly. He was a bit tired of being kept in the dark.

"I didn't want to frighten you but…" he started before being cut off.

"What? I'm an FBI agent; I think I can handle it." Reid stated.

"Matt knows that I turned on them and he's probably on his way as we speak…" Pete admitted.

"Well at least things can't get any worse." Reid said with a dry laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's this way come on."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"This is just perfect…" Morgan spat out angrily to Hotch.

Gideon and the rest of the team were securing and searching the school for any sign of Reid while Hotch and Morgan remained at the police station with the principal. Morgan was fatigued and just plain angry. O'Brien calling for his lawyer just about put him over the edge.

"We all knew there wasn't really a chance he was actually going to tell us where Reid was." Hotch said trying to comfort his colleague as Morgan paced.

"Where Reid _is_!" he corrected him with irritation. "I just can't believe we're going through this again… we must've been stupid to let him do this."

"Morgan, you have to remember that this is what Reid wanted." Hotch replied.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't _want_ to be kidnapped again…"

"Call Garcia please, we need his background information along with the boys he mentioned."

"Fine…" he said dialing her number.

"Garcia," Penelope answered cheerfully. Even if they were in the direst of situations she tried to make them feel better.

"Hey, baby girl it's me." Morgan said calmly trying not to sound nasty to his friend. "I need you to check your files for Matthew and Peter Morgan. Also pull up anything you can about O'Brien's past."

"You got it." She responded smiling to herself. "And Morgan, don't blame your self. Reid will make it."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Pete and Reid were moving as quickly as possible through the forest. It was terribly cold and Reid's feet were already cut up from the sticks and rocks that resided on the ground all around them. Sooner or later a snow flurry started up. Pete groaned as he saw the crystal white flakes fall from the sky. Reid on the other hand stood in place for a moment and stared up into the sky. Since he lived in Las Vegas most of his life snow was a rare sight and he loved it, even if death was only a few steps away.

"Come on we have to keep moving." Pete said placing his hand on Reid's shoulder with concern.

"How much further is it?" he asked weakly as he breathed heavily. Reid's teeth were chattering from the cold and he tried to warm himself by rubbing his hands on his forearms quickly.

"I'd say about eight more miles at the least." Pete panted. Both of them were so desperately tired. But the fear of meeting up with Matt in his now psychotic state was definitely a drive to keep going.

Reid remembered playing tag when he was a young kid at school. There was always that stimulating fear of being caught as you ran away from the person who was "it", but tag was just a game and he knew if they were caught they'd have a bigger consequence in the game.

"Dr. Reid, can I ask you something?" Pete asked slowing down to walk next to Reid.

"What?" he asked quizzically. _What could he possibly want to know?_

"Do you think my parents will be ashamed of me?" he asked almost on the verge of tears. Reid knew that the guilt he was probably feeling was overwhelming.

"I really couldn't say. I don't know your parents." He answered truthfully with a shrug.

"I'm Matt's adopted brother… they'll be so upset with us." Reid's eyes widened at this confession. He now feared that if they did come in contact with Matt he would somehow convince Pete to help him finish him off. "Wouldn't your parents?"

Reid thought about his question and came to realize the answer. "Probably not… I mean I haven't talked to my dad since I was ten years old. And my mom is a schizophrenic."

"I'm sorry…" Pete said. Reid didn't know why he told him that since he rarely told anyone.

"But if I was your parent I would just be wondering why you didn't do anything to stop it…" Reid told him sincerely as they continued to walk in the woods.

Pete remained silent. He felt ashamed and didn't know what to say at all. If he could go back and change everything he told himself, he would have done something.

"You know how O'Brien preached about no one stopping everyone getting bullied or tormented?" Reid asked.

"Yeah…" Pete responded with curiosity to what Reid would say next.

"Don't you think what he's done is just as bad?"

Before Pete had time to answer both of them froze on the spot. Matt was standing only a few feet away with a psychotic smile upon his filthy face. He was holding a large tree branch that had fallen from the trees above.

"What I'm _going_ do is going to be much worse…" he said. Then he smacked Reid across the face with it. He was once again lost in blackness.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Hey, sugar… it's me." Garcia said cheerfully into her wireless headset as she rolled on a chair around her tiny office surrounded by computers. She didn't have the most pleasant of news for her friend so she thought it would be best to make him a little happy.

"How would I have known?" Morgan joked smiling for the first time in a week. "Good news?" he asked anxiously.

"Not so much I'm afraid. This O'Brien guy is one sick puppy. Okay, when he was a freshman at a boarding school he was charged for assault on other students after they were just rousing him up a little. There are records of anti-depressants he's been prescribed, and get this, another for paranoid personality disorder."

Morgan's face quickly turned into a frown, "And how did he become a school principal?" he asked in anger.

"Don't ask me babe." She said regretfully thinking of Reid. "Not so bad for those kids you mentioned though. They come from a good family, but the one named Peter was adopted so that might be where some of the issues are."

"We still don't know how they're connected though…" Morgan said deep in his thoughts. "I'm going to call Gideon and tell him to have a few people bring them in."

"Gotcha, over and out," she said.

Morgan hung up and immediately started calling Gideon's cell. He was feeling more exasperated than ever.

"Gideon."

"Hey, how's it going over there?" Morgan asked persistently.

"Not so good. We've searched the entire school and there's no sign of Reid anywhere." Gideon said calmly since he knew that his fellow agent was already stressed out enough.

"What about the woods?" Morgan asked with a bit of hope.

"There's a really bad storm brewing up here and it's probably heading towards you guys soon," Gideon said. He was very fearful for Reid. Not only was there a chance of his young agent getting murdered, but now his life could be lost to a blizzard in the making.

"I have two names for you. They might have been part of the kidnapping and murders. They're Matthew and Peter Morgan."

"I'll check them out now, stay where you are, it's a disaster on the roads," Gideon said.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Reid could not feel his body as he opened his eyes slowly. He was lying on the ground in the snow and Matt was standing over him. A thrilling pain ran threw his body as he touched the part of his face where the branch had hit. He had a huge gash on his right cheek and it was bleeding. There were blood drops on the snow.

"Don't even move until I tell you." Matt said furtively holding a gun out aimed at Reid's forehead.

He knew that there was nothing stopping this unsub from killing him right there. Reid could do nothing but follow his commands and try to stay alive as long as possible.

"How could you betray me like this Pete?" he yelled at his brother in anger. Peter was standing a couple feet away with his hands in his pockets looking down at the newly white ground.

"I told you when you first asked me to do this that I couldn't stomach it… and it's just wrong." Pete said not making eye contact as he continued to stare down at the snow.

"I see Dr. Reid has brainwashed you… but that's just what people like him do. They try to stop the powerful ones just because they are inferior."

Reid remained silent knowing that another sarcastic or persuasive comment would not do any good for either of them. Kneeling on the ground close to a man with a gun reminded him of a case a few years ago with the LDSK. That thought made him think of Hotch and all the others. _I can't do this…_ The thought of death made him shake. So did the thought of his mother being alone in the world with no one left if he was killed. _You should have thought of this before you got yourself in this mess._

"So, you're just going to kill me right here… I thought you were superior to me. Where's the risk in that. You have me out here where you could just kill me, but that's only because you drugged me like a coward." Reid said feeling quite nervous yet sounding confident at the same time.

"Please, you can't persuade him…" Pete began.

Matt cut him off, "No, the doctor is very much right. There should be a challenge. That's what O'Brien always talks about anyways. Fine… I'll give you five minutes to try and get back before I follow. And then I shall kill you."

"We'll see." Reid said quietly.


	15. Chapter 15 Just Breathe

A/C Wow it's been awhile! Sorry guys I've had so many regents and I'm also in a show so I haven't had much time to finish this story up. I hope you've enjoyed reading just as much as I've enjoyed writing! Remember keep reviewing! 33

Despite Gideon's warnings Morgan was ready to start the drive up to the school once more. His motivation to save his friend was endless. The knot in his stomach made him queasy with anxiousness. The roads were getting pretty bad, but he knew he could make it before the blizzard hit with full force. Hotch had also give him the okay since he was in one of the SUVs. Morgan hadn't told him what Gideon had said about driving there though.

He was half way there and all he could see was a white abyss before him on the long winding road. Memories floated in and out of his troubled mind. They were filled with card games and moments of humor between him and Reid. He remembered how much Reid had been there for him when he was arrested and countless other times. Morgan knew very well that if his friend was left to die cold and alone he could never forgive himself. He would regret every time he told Reid to be quiet after he was rambling on about something completely random. Each time he would think of a moment where he shut Reid out he would cringe. Morgan had to save Spencer for both their sakes.

"I'm coming Reid…" he mumbled as he continued to drive fiercely.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Darkness surrounded the woods of the forest surrounding Opaque Academy. The trees were weighed down with crystal like snow. Time had passed after the moments of Reid being confronted by Matt. Reid and Pete were running threw the woods trying to get away from their insane predator. They didn't seem to have much concern for one another anymore. Even as Reid ran with a drive of fear he noticed how this event seem so much like a short story called "The Most Dangerous Game" he had once read. Matt seemed to be taking his time with much confidence.

The pair of prey stopped for a moment to take a short breath. They looked at each other weakly. Pete seemed to be shaking, but Reid couldn't tell whether it was fear or the freezing cold elements they were facing. Reid knew that if Matt didn't kill them the storm most likely would. A few feet back he had already ripped part of his blazer to cover his feet so he could not get frost bite. Even so, he could not feel his toes.

"This is no good…" Reid said out of breath, "We can't run away from him."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Pete said. His eyes were watering slightly. Reid pitied him as he remembered how young he was.

"We have to fight back… there's two of us and one of him." Reid said placing his hand on Pete's shoulder supportively.

Pete moved away with defense and said, "I'm not going to kill my own brother!" he said loudly. Reid winced at the echo knowing Matt would probably have heard him.

"Well he was certainly planning on killing you." Reid said not trying to sound harsh. "Look, I know it will be hard for you, but we have no other choice. I'll do it and you can be bait, alright?"

It wasn't as easy as Reid made it out to be. He just didn't want to worry Pete anymore than he already was. Reid was in a bad state between the fear of death and the fight to live. Killing someone definitely wouldn't be his first choice, but he was almost delusional.

"Time's up boys!" Matt screamed as he was jogging toward them. It was a disturbing sight. The look on his face could measure up to the insanity on the face of Alex from _A Clockwork Orange_.

_He's right._ Reid felt a sudden instinct as Matt cam toward him with the full intention to murder him right then and there. But Reid for once was too fast for him. The usually mild mannered doctor soon found him on top of Matt as he repeatedly punched his face with hatred. Everything that had happened to him the last few months he was taking out on this murderous fiend.

Reid could only here Pete slightly as he screamed, "No! Please just get off of him! He's my brother!" But Reid was having no mercy on Matt. Soon his entire face seemed like a bloody pulp. His nose was definitely broken and he was unconscious. Reid stopped and stared with fright at his bloody hands.

Reid ultimately forgot that Matt was still completely conscious. The bleeding young man lunged himself at Reid with a vengeance. Soon Reid felt Matt's cold dirty hands around his neck. His attempts to gasp for air were taken away. He was on the ground sprawled out and he saw Pete cowering under a tree with tears in his eyes. The life was slowly being dragged out of him. Finally he saw he large sharp rock conveniently lying next to him under another tree. It seemed as though it was fate. If so, fate definitely wanted him to prevail over the evil of Matt. At one sudden movement he desperately grabbed the cobble and beat Matt in the head as hard as he could. Before he knew it Reid heard the cries of Pete which were followed by sobs. His neck was once again freed and Matt lay dead on the ground bleeding heavily from his head.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Morgan heard the sound of ringing sirens as his head spun and a drop of blood made its way down his forehead. All he remembered was the brightness of the white snow and thinking about Reid. The next thing he knew his car had crashed into a surrounding wood that was off the exit he had to turn on. The storm had been too horrible. _Damn it!_

He wondered how long he had been lying in a bloody heap. Hotch was probably going to kill him for not telling him the truth, or worse, fire him. But Morgan knew he had more important things to worry about, especially the fact that he could not move his legs.

Syracuse Police Department

Hotch watched O'Brien threw the glass of the interrogation room intently. Whenever he faced the unsubs he had the same thought, _how can you get to that point?_ It frightened him even more that he had spoken to that man a week prior and he trusted him with the safety of his agent. The storm had gotten terrible and Hotch hoped Morgan would get to the school safely. Morgan hadn't told him about Gideon's warning so he thought it would be fine if there were no major warnings.

"Agent Hotchner?" a deputy asked as he approached the worried man. "The local hospital called to say that one of your agents had been in a car accident in the storm and is there right now."

Hotch's heart dropped even lower inside him that it already had been. He hadn't thought that anything could make the current situation worse, but he had definitely been wrong.

"Tell them I'm on my way." said Hotch quickly as he whipped out his phone with much haste.

"Gideon! Morgan's been in a road accident…" he said after pressing the number for the agent.

"What? I told you guys to stay off the roads!" he said with much worry.

"Morgan never told me that…" he said deep in though, "I'm going to the hospital… but listen to me. I was talking to Garcia an hour ago and she was telling me about the school and how out in the woods there used to be some kind of bomb shelter and a medical station. I think Reid could be there."

"I wish you would've told me sooner… but I'll get everyone on it. Let's prey for both Reid and Morgan's safety."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Opaque Academy

Gideon was in a state of panic within. Two of his agents were slowly facing deathly situations and could be dying as he was in thought. JJ and Prentiss were still doing all they could to find Reid's whereabouts, but Gideon had a feeling that the forest was where they needed to look.

Soon enough he got together a search team that could move through the woods easily with snow mobiles. Gideon was on the back of one which was driven by a trained officer. JJ and Prentiss were both on a snow mobile as well. They wanted to find Reid just as much as anyone else. JJ was close to tears as she realized that Reid could have been killed by the storm already. Prentiss was strong as usual, but was withering inside thinking about the last time Reid and she had spoken face to face.

Everyone was wearing extremely heavy clothes and they were equipped with first aid kits and other things that would save the agent if it was needed. The ride through the woods was dark and menacing. Each agent secretly treasured each wonderful memory of Reid they possessed. The lights of the snow mobiles were fierce and they could see mostly everything that came up before them.

A few miles in they found what they had been desperately seeking. Gideon froze as he viewed blood in the white snow praying it was not Reid's. The group got off the snow mobiles and searched the area with flashlights. They all spun around as they heard the sobs of Pete as he still was under the evergreen tree. JJ immediately went to him along with her driver. She put a warm thermal blanket around his body and he clung to her crying as though he was a baby and she was his mother.

Gideon continued to walk around the perimeter and saw a bloody mess before him. Gently he turned the body around praying that it was not Reid. To his relief it was not. He figured it was one of the Morgan boys that O'Brien mentioned. Gideon's driver called for backup as he saw the body.

Prentiss walked around with a flashlight on the outer limits of the area. She heard muffled cries in the distance. She wondered if it was in her mind or whether they were real. She followed the noise and gasped with emotion. Reid sat alone and freezing in the cold snow with blood stained hands and feet. He was sobbing violently. Usually Prentiss was quite strong but she started to weep as well at the sight of her friend alive. She kneeled in the snow and embraced him. Reid clung to her as though she was a savior or some sort. They stayed there for a few moments before she called everyone over to her discovery. JJ hugged him as well when she saw him and she cried very hard. Gideon shed a tear or two as well, but was more concerned on getting him out of the darkness.

Reid didn't stop crying even though he was safe. As Gideon tried to help him up he cried, "I did it… I killed that kid."

Gideon knew it was self-defense, but he wasn't going to go into a legal lecture in the position they were in. All he said was, "It's gonna be alright."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Warmth, the only way to describe what Reid felt within. Three days had passed since the team had found him in the forest along with the dead lifeless body of Matthew Morgan. The hours after that had become a blur in Reid's mind. All he remembered was waking up a day later in a warm hospital bed.

The team had waited a little to tell him what had happened to Morgan. His car accident had left him with a broken leg and bruised ribs, but he was going to be fine. Reid was still recovering from pneumonia, but other than that he was perfectly fine. It was going to take him awhile to begin to eat properly and not have to take meds three times a day, but Reid was thankful for life.

In his mind he saw his journey as a second chance. Even though he had much regret for killing Matthew whether it was self-defense or not, he still knew that this time he only had to kill the evil side of a killing team. Peter had survived and would get the medical attention he needed so that he could just maybe live a normal life without the stain of murder.

Reid was now sitting by Morgan's side in the hospital. Gideon and Reid had stayed back in New York to stay with Morgan before he could be brought home to recover.

"I can't believe you got in a car accident… You could've died because of me." Reid said with a weak smile to his friend who was lying in the hospital bed.

"Hey, people do stupid things when they have the motivation to save a friend." Morgan said grinning. He had been so relieved that Reid had been alright that like many of the team members he too had burst into tears. But now he believed that everything would be back to normal.

There was a moment of silence in the room. Both of them were reflecting on each other. Reid and Morgan were thankful for life and a chance to move on. Gideon stood by the door smiling as well. He had been through a lot the last few days as well. After loosing him whole team a few years ago he would not be able to handle loosing anymore. Jason Gideon knew that in a few weeks time they'd be back in Quantico sitting at the round table once again seeking out another criminal and looking into their mind…

**The End **

A/N Thanks again for reading my fan fiction! I hope to write more in the future. I've really enjoyed this experience and I hope you guys did as well.


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